A group of 13 people, including former prison officers and prisoners, were found guilty this week of their involvement in the “major” incident. drug trafficking conspiracy, Ministry of Justice report.
The men admitted to cooperating in the trafficking of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine from February 2017 to May 2019, the department said. The group operated out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola and obtained illegal drugs from suppliers in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, and Colton, California.
An investigation carried out by the Central District Organized Crime and Narcotics Control Task Force found that drugs were trafficked into the prison through guards and inmates, who then profited by distributing the drugs to others in the prison. found. The victims were between 33 and 44 years old and were sentenced to between four and 16 years in prison.
Arthur Basaldua, 44, of Angola, Louisiana, was sentenced to the maximum term of 192 months in prison for “conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine.” He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Manual Cadena, 44, and Michael Cadena, 33, of Hesperia, California, and Nelson Thippen, 44, of Angola, Louisiana, were also sentenced to 48 months in prison (minimum sentence) for similar charges. received.
All 13 were sentenced to at least three years of supervised release after completing their sentences.
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gase Jr. announced the sentences for the offenders Monday following an “extensive federal, state, and local investigation.”
“The sentences for these 13 defendants are a testament to our efforts to dismantle large-scale criminal conspiracies and drug trafficking networks. We leveraged federal, state, and local partnerships to identify individuals from California to Louisiana. OCDETF’s collaborative efforts in investigations have reduced the availability of illegal drugs in the community, and we have We will continue this approach to keep out organized crime in the United States,” said Gaete.
“The FBI’s goal is to identify and target criminal enterprises and other groups involved in drug trafficking,” said Lionel Mircil, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Today, justice was meted out to those who chose to traffic and distribute illegal drugs in Angola’s National Penitentiary. ”
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