BORDER CRIME
Brother of slain Gulf Cartel boss sentenced for role in multi-state cocaine ring
A federal judge in Houston sentenced the brother of a former Gulf Cartel boss leader with running a drug network in the United States. (Sandra Sanchez/Border… Read More
by: Sandra Sanchez
Posted: Mar 20, 2023 / 01:22 PM CDT
Updated: Mar 20, 2023 / 01:49 PM CDT
McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — The South Texas brother of a former Gulf Cartel boss on Monday was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a cocaine ring that Department of Justice officials say spanned multiple states.
Lee Roy Villarreal, 39, of Rio Grande City, Texas, must serve 180 months followed by five years supervised release for his involvement in a large-scale cocaine distribution network, U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani announced.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen handed down the sentence Monday in Houston. The court found Villarreal ran a cocaine network for nearly five years during which time he and his associates distributed up to 450 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico and Panama to a number of distributors based in Texas, Georgia, Illinois and Indiana.
Villarreal is the brother of Michael Villarreal, AKA “Gringo Mike,” a former Gulf Cartel plaza boss who was killed in March 2013 by rival Gulf Cartel members, Justice officials said.
https://www.borderreport.com/immigration/border-crime/brother-of-slain-gulf-cartel-boss-sentenced-for-role-in-multi-state-cocaine-ring/
