DEL RIO, Texas – Two senior members of the Los Zetas Cartel operation in Piedras Negras, Mexico, were convicted Friday by a Del Rio jury on federal drug and firearm charges.
According to a courtroom testimony, Emilio Villalobos-Alcala, 29, and Jose Eluid Lugo-Lopez, 27, were involved in a large-scale marijuana and firearms smuggling scheme from July 2011 until February 2013.
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Villalobos-Alcala and Lugo-Lopez reportedly purchased assault weapons, other firearms and ammunition in San Antonio that they smuggled in hidden compartments of cars and trucks through Eagle Pass to Piedras Negras.
The two also smuggled bundles of marijuana across the river into Quemado, Texas, where they were then transported to stash houses in Eagle Pass and San Antonio, then distributed in Dallas and Houston.
Evidence presented in court included threats made by Villalobos-Alcala and Lugo-Lopez to people involved in the smuggling conspiracy and their families if they did not pay money for the drugs or weapons that were seized by law enforcement, or if they did not agree to move drugs or weapons on behalf of the cartel.
Villalobos-Alcala was arrested at the Port of Entry in Eagle Pass in February 2013. Lugo-Lopez was arrested in November 2012 in Eagle Pass after crossing into the country illegally.
The two were convicted on one count of conspiracy to import marijuana, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and two counts of smuggling goods from the United States.
Villalobos-Alcala and Lugo-Lopez remain in federal custody while they await sentencing. They both face up to life in prison.
"Homeland Security Investigations is committed to ensuring weaponry does not reach the hands of transnational criminal enterprises that pose a threat to public safety in the United States here and abroad," said special agent in charge, Janice Ayala, HSI San Antonio. "HSI special agents will continue working jointly with our law enforcement partners and utilize our expertise in export enforcement to keep our citizens safe and secure."