by Morgan Sweeney
A man convicted of trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine from Mexico into Virginia was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison yesterday, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced today.
“Cantu-Cantu was the major source of supply for a drug conspiracy that distributed more than 33 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and six kilograms of cocaine into Southwest and Central Virginia through a multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking organization,” according to a press release from Miyares’ office.
The events that ultimately led to the arrest and conviction of Alonso Cantu-Cantu, of Houston, Texas and 26 other defendants began six years ago with an investigation of street-level dealers in the Smyth County area.
According to evidence presented at trial, water tankers would bring the “high-purity” methamphetamine to the U.S. directly from Mexico in 55-gallon drums. Cantu-Cantu often worked with another “major drug trafficker” already behind bars to direct the drugs once they arrived at their distributors. They ultimately distributed throughout the Western District of Virginia, from Harrisonburg in the Shenandoah Valley to the independent city of Bristol on the Virginia-Tennessee border.
“In all, the estimated street value of the methamphetamine and cocaine distributed during the course of the conspiracy was more than $1.4 million,” according to the release.
Law enforcement officials seized more than 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 125.4 grams of heroin, 94 grams of cocaine, and seven firearms during the investigation.
The Drug Enforcement Administration-Washington Field Division’s Bristol Post of Duty led the investigation, with assistance from the sheriff’s office in Smyth County. DEA posts in Indiana and Alabama, an Alabama police department, and many other sheriff’s offices, police departments and other law enforcement agencies in Virginia also assisted.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has been an ardent critic of the handling of security at the southern border, citing the flow of drugs into the commonwealth—specifically fentanyl, which kills an average of five Virginians a day. Last month, Youngkin deployed troops from the Virginia National Guard to assist in Operation Lone Star in securing the border.
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Morgan Sweeney is a staff writer covering Virginia and Maryland for The Center Square. Morgan was an active member of the journalism program as an undergraduate at Hillsdale College and previously freelanced for The Center Square.
