FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
JULY 12, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TRUCKER CONVICTED IN SEIZURE OF 23 KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE
Found Guilty in DEA’s Largest Seizure from a Controlled Delivery in Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland - A federal jury today convicted Alejandero Arango-Lopez a/k/a Alejandero Jesus Arango, age 39, of Los Angeles, California for conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, after a December 19, 2006 DEA seizure of 23 kilograms of cocaine intended for delivery in Maryland, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to evidence presented at the one week trial, a state trooper in North Carolina stopped the tractor trailer Arango-Lopez was driving for speeding on December 18, 2006. After a canine alert for narcotics, the trooper searched the vehicle and found 23 kilograms of cocaine. DEA agents learned that Arango-Lopez and a co-conspirator were being paid $10,000 each to deliver the 23 kilograms of cocaine, originally loaded into the vehicle in California, to a rest area at exit 35 off Interstate 95 in Howard County, Maryland.
Arango-Lopez faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years. The defendant remains detained. Chief U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg has scheduled sentencing for Arango-Lopez on October 19, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Drug Enforcement Administration of both the Baltimore and Asheville, North Carolina field offices, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Giblin and Kwame J. Manley, who are prosecuting the case.