Guatemalan Pseudoephedrine Trafficker Sentenced To 11 Years For Importing Pills For Meth Production

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Erick Estrada Reyes, 31, of Guatemala, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to import several thousand pseudoephedrine pills into the United States for the production of methamphetamine.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Robert W. Patterson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.

Estrada Reyespleaded guilty on June 6, 2014 to conspiracy to unlawfully import pseudoephedrine and aiding and abetting the manufacture of methamphetamine.  According to court records, Estrada Reyes was involved in the sale of nearly 5,000 pseudoephedrine pills to a person he believed was involved in a methamphetamine production operation based in Houston, Texas.  This individual was, in reality, a DEA cooperating witness.  Estrada Reyes, along with his father, Edgar Estrada Morales, and his cousin, Victor Estrada Paredes, negotiated the sale of equipment used to extract pseudoephedrine from pill form for use in the manufacture of methamphetamine.  They also discussed working for the DEA cooperator’s fictitious U.S.-based methamphetamine trafficking organization.  According to the indictment, Estrada Reyes worked for his father’s operation, which sold pseudoephedrine to groups that sold methamphetamine in the United States, including the “La Familia” Mexican drug cartel.

Estrada Reyes, along with his father and cousin, were indicted on Feb. 3, 2011 by a federal grand jury for their involvement in this operation.  Edgar Estrada Morales was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Aug. 2, 2013, and Victor Estrada Paredes was sentenced to 11 years in prison on July 19, 2013.

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:11-cr-62.