Jury Convicts Mexican National of Drug Trafficking

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Mexican national was convicted by a federal trial jury today of his role in a conspiracy to smuggle methamphetamine from Mexico into the Kansas City, Mo., area.

Jose Federico Almeida-Olivas, also known as “Francisco” and “Pancho,” 35, a citizen of Mexico, was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and of using a telephone to facilitate the distribution of methamphetamine.

Today’s conviction is the result of a multiple-agency investigation into the activities of a Sinaloa, Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that smuggles large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico for distribution throughout the United States, including the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Almeida-Olivas was involved in the delivery of 10.5 pounds of methamphetamine to an associate in Kansas City, Mo., in October 2011.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about 1 ½ hours before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple, ending a trial that began Monday, Jan. 11, 2016.

Under federal statutes, Almeida-Olivas is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Marquez and Adam Caine. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).