Irving, Texas Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Trafficking Cocaine From Texas To Illinois
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Henry Garcia-Blanco, a 28-year-old resident of Irving, Texas, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison for transporting one kilogram of cocaine to Illinois. Along with the prison term, he has also been ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
Starting in late 2021, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated an investigation after discovering large amounts of cocaine were being transported from Texas, through Illinois, and ultimately to St. Louis. On December 10, 2021, a confidential source informed agents that a drug courier by the name of Garcia-Blanco had become stranded in Effingham, Illinois. With this knowledge, the agents arranged for a ride to assist Garcia-Blanco's travel.
Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of the truck and identified the defendant as a passenger. Upon questioning from law enforcement, a positive alert from a trained narcotics K-9 and a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers located a vacuum-sealed brick of what was later confirmed by laboratory testing to be just over a kilogram of cocaine. Garcia-Blanco admitted that he was transporting the cocaine from Texas.
The DEA investigates drug cases through a multifaceted approach, utilizing three primary types of intelligence – tactical, investigative, and strategic. Tactical intelligence focuses on real-time information that supports arrests, seizures, and interdictions, enabling agents to respond effectively to immediate threats. Investigators were quickly able to identify and take down the ones responsible for this illegal operation.
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