El Paso trucker gets 24 years in prison for marijuana trafficking

A judge Friday sentenced David Lopez, 56, to 293 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute thousands of kilograms of marijuana.

In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Philip R. Martinez ordered Lopez to pay a $50,000 fine.

Evidence revealed Lopez had been transporting marijuana from El Paso, Texas to cities in the United States in between August 2001 and August 2015.

Lopez used commercial tractor trailers driven by himself and other hired drivers to transport the marijuana.

The DEA was able to connect significant marijuana seizures in Sierra Blanca, Abilene, Alamogordo, and Pratt County, Kansas.

In 2010, Lopez was stopped in Clark County, Kansas where a police canine alerted to his vehicle. Officers found $130,000 in his suitcase, prosecutors said.

Lopez denied any knowledge of the cash even though the cash was packaged similar to $53,000 in cash found in a safe after a search of his residence in 2015.

Additional evidence indicates Lopez attempted to hire a confidential source and an undercover officer to transport marijuana for him.