BOISE – Jorge Luis Cardoza, 26, of Mexico, was sentenced yesterday to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Cardoza to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term, 120 hours of community service, and a $100 special assessment. Cardoza pleaded guilty to the charge on March 21, 2012.

According to court documents, the defendant assisted co-defendants in supplying pound quantities of methamphetamine to individuals, who then distributed the methamphetamine in Canyon County.

The sentencing was the result of a year-long Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation named “Operation Flame Thrower.” The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. Investigators and prosecutors from ten federal, state, and local agencies cooperated in the arrests and seizures, including Nampa Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, Caldwell Police Department, Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office.