Mexican National Sentenced for Meth Trafficking

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court today after transporting nearly eight kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in his luggage aboard a bus.

Carlos Q. Palafox, 21, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 19, 2018, Palafox pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Palafox arrived at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station aboard a bus originating in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2017. A police service dog conducted a sniff check of the luggage under the bus and alerted to two suitcases belonging to Palafox. Palafox was questioned, and law enforcement officers searched the suitcases. Inside each suitcase were two flat bundles that contained a total of nearly eight kilograms of methamphetamine.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.