An indictment was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging two foreign nationals with international methamphetamine and precursor chemical trafficking conspiracies.
According to allegations in court documents, beginning in 2011, Carlos Algredo Vazquez, 57, and Francisco Pulido Coracero, 65, both of Michoacan, Mexico, allegedly used seemingly legitimate companies in Mexico and the United States to acquire listed chemicals – including methylamine, nitroethane, phenylacetic acid, toluene, and acetone – from companies in China, India, and elsewhere. They allegedly imported the chemicals into Mexico and provided them to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and other Mexican drug-trafficking organizations to manufacture methamphetamine ultimately destined for importation into the United States.
Algredo Vazquez and Pulido Coracero are both charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine for importation into the United States and conspiracy to distribute listed chemicals for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine for importation into the United States. If convicted, Algredo Vazquez and Pulido Coracero each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram made the announcement.
The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) supported this case.
The DEA Los Angeles Division is investigating the case with assistance from the Homeland Security Investigations Houston Field Office.
Trial Attorneys Kate Naseef and Nhan Nguyen and Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Kaitlin Sahni of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tags: Drug Importation Drug Trafficking DTO Meth Mexico