El Paso drug trafficker gets 35 years in prison, ordered to forfeit millions in assets
A Federal judge in El Paso Thursday sentenced 38-year-old Adan Reyes, the leader of a Reyes Drug Trafficking Organization, to 35 years in prison.
US District Judge Frank Montalvo also ordered Reyes to pay a $36,975,000 money judgment and forfeit government seized assets valued at more than $3 million. The seized assets include multiple real estate properties in El Paso and Ruidoso, vehicles and firearms.
“Today’s sentencing of Adan Reyes shows that defendants who attempt to launder their drug money through the purchase of real estate and a lavish lifestyle will pay a hefty price,” said Special Agent in Charge William Cotter, with the IRS Criminal Investigation field office in San Antonio.
“This investigation sends a strong message about the financial investigative capabilities of IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents and their law enforcement partners,” Cotter said.
On July 28, 2016, Reyes pleaded guilty to a ten-count superseding indictment on charges of Conspiracy, Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute, and Money Laundering.
Reyes admitted, that from August 2006 to November 2015, he employed a network of individuals to traffic multiple thousands of kilograms of marijuana from El Paso to the Dumas, Texas area, where it was warehoused before it was delivered to locations in the Midwest.
Federal officials said 14 members of Reyes’ organization have been convicted and sentenced to federal prison for their role in the drug trafficking and money laundering scheme.
