U.S. sentences Sinaloa drug trafficker to 12 years in prison

Federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of Virginia achieved a victory on Wednesday when a convicted Sinaloa based drug dealer accused of trafficking narcotics into the U.S. was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Víctor Hugo Hinojosa-Elizondo, also known as Margoro Hinojosa, was sentenced yesterday after he was found guilty of cross border drug trafficking.

Court documents reveal that between 2016 and 2018, the now-convicted individual managed a drug trafficking organization based in Sinaloa, according to reports released by the Justice Department. 

The DOJ reported that the drug trafficking cartel in question was responsible for distributing approximately 40 pounds (around 18 kilograms) of highly pure methamphetamine, manufactured in Mexico, to several U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and Norfolk, Virginia.

The said organization was both the producer and distributor of this illicit substance, U.S. prosecutors said. 

"The Sinaloa-based organization is responsible for manufacturing, importing, and distributing large amounts of highly pure methamphetamine using couriers, while running international meth operations in the United States from Mexico," the Justice Department said.

Víctor Hugo Hinojosa, aged 55, along with his co-conspirator Luis Enrique Soto Ferro, aged 47, were extradited from Mexico to the United States last year.

Soto Ferro was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in methamphetamine distribution and for leading the aforementioned criminal group.