MCALLEN, TX – A former deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office has been ordered to prison following his conviction of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, as announced by acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery, of the Southern District of Texas.
Baldemar Cardenas, 39, McAllen, pleaded guilty on April 1, 2022.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Cardenas to serve 46 months in federal prison immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted his position as a deputy at the time of the offense and the serious issues with law enforcement authorities assisting drug traffickers.
At the time of his plea, Cardenas admitted that in January 2020, he conspired with a drug trafficking organization.
Members of the group would receive kilogram quantities of highly pure cocaine. They would then utilize small portions of the drugs to create sham cocaine with very low purity.
Cardenas ensured authorities seized the fake bundles by providing information to local law enforcement agencies. The information would enable authorities to conduct the seizure of the low-purity cocaine and allow co-conspirators to avoid responsibility for stealing the cocaine from their source of supply and the distribution of the stolen cocaine for profit.
In order to further the scheme and in exchange for compensation, Cardenas provided information to local law enforcement in January 2020 in order to effectuate the seizure of approximately 33 kilograms of sham cocaine bundles. Cardenas falsely claimed a confidential source provided the information. Based on the information he gave, law enforcement seized the multi-kilogram sham bundles of cocaine in Mission, Texas.
Laboratory testing on the bundles revealed a cocaine purity level of only 1.5%.
Cardenas was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, and Mission Police Department.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. prosecuted the case.
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