Druglord From South Texas Bazán Drug Smuggling Organization Gets 27 Years In Prison

A federal judge sentenced Delfino Bazán, a South Texas druglord to 27 years in prison for operating a major drug trafficking operation that smuggled 10K kilograms of marijuana between 2012 to 2013.

By H. Nelson Goodson

March 7, 2014

McAllen, Texas - On Thursday, U.S. District Federal Judge Randy Crane sentenced Delfino Bazán, 44, the Houston druglord of the Bazán criminal organization that operated a marijuana drug smuggling operation in South Texas to 27 years in prison to run concurrently with a prior drug conviction. He will also forfeit more than $10M in monetary judgement.

Bazán was convicted for operating a marijuana drug smuggling operation that smuggled about 2,200 pounds (1K kilograms) a month into the region from Starr County to Houston. 

Bazán and 18 other suspects were busted after a year long investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) , the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HSI Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and Starr County authorities from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA). In July 2013, a man was taken into custody after federal agents managed to stop the vehicle after a chase ended and at least 1,272 pounds were confiscated. That drug case led authorities to learn about the Bazán drug smuggling enterprise in South Texas.

Feds later confiscated 12,247 kilograms of marijuana, 19 weapons, cash and properties, according to the federal indictment. 

The following were also sentenced on Thursday, Alejandrina Martinez, 43, Bazán's common law wife to two years and six months in prison for money laundering and holding bank accounts for the Bazán criminal organization. 

● Jose Luis Palacios Jr., 38, a Mission Attorney received 12 years in prison for drug trafficking.

● Jose Luis Palacios Sr., 64, of Edinburg was sentenced to five years in prison.

● Elee "Eli" Camargo, 37, of McAllen was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking.

Both Palacios (Jr. and Sr.) and Camargo conspired to transport 428 kilograms of marijuana to Bazán in Houston. 

● Sostences Ferriera García, 59, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

● Enrique Montalvo, 40, was sentenced to nine years in prison.

● Jose Felipe Ramon, 33, was sentenced to 11 years and three months to prison.

García, Montalvo and Ramon, all from Rio Grande City conspired with Morales, Moreno and Aguilar, all three from Camargo, Tamaulipas,  Mexico to smuggle and transport 10K kilograms of marijuana into Texas.

● Samuel Espino Morales, 59, was sentenced to four years and three years in prison.

● Jorge Luis Martinez-Moreno, 28, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

● Homero Daniel Gutierrez-Aguilar, 24, received more than nine years in prison.

● Ivan Del Jesus Campos-Landa, 31, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.

●David Muñiz, 54, sentenced to five years in prison.

●Jose Luis Lozano, 41, sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

●Mario Alberto Martinez, 44, sentenced to six years in prison.

●David Ulloa Correa, 48, sentenced to two years in prison.

Landa,  Muñiz, Lozano, Martinez and Corres, all of Rio Grande City were convicted for conspiring to smuggle and drug trafficking large quantities of marijuana.

● Thomas Garcia, 53, of Garciasville was sentenced to ten years in prison.

● Edmundo Canales, 23, of Edinburg was sentenced to three and eight months in prison.

●Rosendo Benitez, 45, of McAllen will serve seven years and three months in prison.

García, Canales and Benitez were all convicted of attempting to transport various amounts of marijuana.