LAREDO, TEXAS – One 0f 38 co-conspirators working for a Laredo-based drug trafficking organization was sentenced last month to more than 20 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $42 million following multiple convictions of drug and international money laundering charges, federal officials announced last month.Oscar DeLeon, aka “Shrek,” 39, of Laredo, was part of a drug conspiracy that existed from 2006 to 2010, that shipped cocaine, marijuana and U.S. currency from Mexico through Laredo to Atlanta, Ga., and throughout the United States.
De Leon was convicted on drug and international money laundering conspiracy charges from 2006-2010 as well as possession with intent to distribute more than 220 pounds of cocaine and more than 660 pounds of marijuana from May 2008 and May 2009, respectively, authorities said.
DeLeon was convicted by a Laredo federal jury Dec. 11, 2013, following a three-day trial and approximately three hours of deliberation, officials said.
The arrests were part of Operation El Patron that was an investigation launched by Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, involving federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, authorities said.