Foreign national sent to prison for distributing multiple kilograms of meth

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 29-year-old legal permanent resident of McAllen has been sentenced following his conviction in Corpus Christi federal court of conspiring to possess and distributing over 21 kilos of meth, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Adrian Lechuga Rievoles pleaded guilty Dec. 30, 2019.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack ordered him to serve a total of 168 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court found he was not truthful about his role in the conspiracy.

On Feb. 9, 2019, authorities discovered disconnected speaker boxes in the trunk of a Ford Focus at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias which appeared to be usually heavy. They ultimately found multiple bundles of meth weighing over 21.53 kilograms with a value of more than $1 million.

The investigation led to Rievoles. Law enforcement confirmed his involvement as an organizer in a vast meth distribution network which covered all major Texas cities and included multiple states along the Gulf Coast.

Authorities apprehended Rievoles July 29, 2019, as he attempted to enter the United States from Mexico. He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neel Kapur is prosecuting the case.