Starr County, Texas Man Sentenced for East Texas Drug Trafficking

BEAUMONT, Texas – A 45-year-old Roma, Texas man has been sentenced to prison for federal drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

     Amador Saldana pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2016, to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone.

     According to information presented in court, Saldana, also known as Mustard, because he packaged kilograms of cocaine with mustard because he believed it would defeat drug dog detection, was a large-scale distributor of cocaine based in Roma, Texas. Saldana had status with members of the Gulf Cartel and was able to import hundreds of kilograms from Mexico into Texas for distribution to customers across the Eastern District of Texas and to the Eastern part of the United States.

     This case is the result of an extensive joint investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

     This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Craft.