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Date: 01-19-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:21-cr-20008
Judge: Daniel D. Crabtree
Court: The United States Court for the District of Kansas (Wyandotte Count)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Kansas City, Kansas
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
Edwar Salazar-Belleda, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Salazar-Belleda was part of an international drug trafficking ring operating with meth brought in from Mexico. The co-conspirators laundered illegal proceeds as wire payments destined for individuals in Mexico and California.
From August 2019 through May 2021, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led an undercover investigation which included multiple purchases of meth, heroin, and firearms. Romel Alvarado-Calderon, 27, of Kansas City, Kansas, was the head of the operation, and Salazar-Belleda acted as a broker.
In April 2021, Salazar-Belleda was arrested after a trash bag containing 7.57 kilograms of 98.6% pure meth was found in his hotel room. Law enforcement also located digital scales, meth, heroin, a stolen firearm, and ammunition in his suitcase.
Over the course of the conspiracy investigation, more than 150 kilograms of meth, more than 11 ounces of heroin, marijuana, and numerous firearms were either purchased or seized.
Romel Alvarado-Calderon, Victor Troches-Reyes, 42, Hervey Moreno-Gonzalez, 32, Jesus Vigil-Canales, 44, and Victor Pardo-Jimenez, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Juana Infante-Garcia, 36, Gabriela Garcia-Rojas, 28, and Sergio Galvez-Rodriguez, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder drug proceeds.
There are additional defendants who have cases pending in court.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle McFarlane, David Zabel, and Sheri Catania prosecuted the case.
OCDETF Strike Force Cases
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the OCDETF Kansas City Metro Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle major criminal organizations and subsidiary organizations, including criminal gangs, transnational drug cartels, racketeering organizations, and other groups engaged in illicit activities that present a threat to public safety and national security and are related to the illegal smuggling and trafficking of narcotics or other controlled substances, weapons, humans, or the illegal concealment or transfer of proceeds derived from such illicit activities in the Western District of Missouri and District of Kansas. The OCDETF Kansas City Metro Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Kansas City, Missouri, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the United States Marshal Service (USMS), the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Missouri (USAO-WDMO), the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas (USAO-KS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigation Division (IRS/CID), the United States Secret Service (USSS), and the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Kansas.
Outcome:
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: