Sinaloa Cartel leader in Idaho sentenced to 22 years in prison
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BOISE – A 44-year-old Honduran national was sentenced Thursday to federal prison.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office, Hector Ojeda Manuel Aponte, who is suspected to be unlawfully in the United States, was sentenced to 262 months, or 22 years, in federal prison for the distribution of methamphetamine.
Aponte was distributing approximately 40 pounds of methamphetamine every one to two weeks, along with fentanyl pills and bath salts, according to the release. He reportedly had multiple vehicles he used to transport and distribute drugs, stash houses to hide the drugs, and business fronts to launder his illicit drug proceeds.
“According to multiple sources, Aponte was the “number one guy” for the Sinaloa Cartel in the State of Idaho,” says the release. “He had a well-established supply chain and a distribution network consisting of other accomplices.”
Aponte is the sixth and final defendant sentenced from the investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nampa Police Department Special Investigations Unit.
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also previously sentenced Ernesto Diaz Gaspar (30 months in prison), Wilkin Rolando Martinez Munguia (36 months in prison), Cevin Alfonzo Martinez (42 months in prison), and Jesus DeJesus Loera (70 months in prison).
Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Lawrence Barnes (160 months in prison). Barnes and Loera are U.S. citizens, while the remaining defendants are reportedly unlawfully present in the United States.
“The United States Department of Justice is committed to eliminating the threat posed by Mexican drug cartels and their distribution of narcotics in Idaho.” Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott said. “Along with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to hold them accountable for bringing poisonous drugs into our state.”
“Illegal immigration and drug trafficking are interconnected threats because Foreign Terrorist Organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel routinely employ people like this defendant to further their drug enterprises,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “I am gratified that we, at the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with our partners at the Nampa Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, succeeded in holding this defendant accountable for his serious crimes targeting our community, resulting in this lengthy prison sentence. Justice was served yesterday.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott commended the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nampa Police Department Special Investigations Unit, which led to the convictions and sentences. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Morse prosecuted this case.
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