BEAUMONT, Texas – A man described by prosecutors as the former leader of Mexico's Gulf drug cartel has pleaded guilty in Texas to drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
The Beaumont Enterprise reports (http://bit.ly/1z8DiJV ) Juan Francisco Saenz-Tamez told U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone in Beaumont on Tuesday that he smuggled about 100 tons of marijuana and almost a half-ton of cocaine, generating about $100 million. He said he took the cash to Mexico and reinvested it into the business to buy drugs and "other things."
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft says the 23-year-old defendant joined the cartel in 2007 as a lookout. The Drug Enforcement Administration says Saenz-Tamez became the head of the cartel after the 2013 arrest of its former leader.
He was arrested in October. A sentencing hearing hasn't been set.
___
Information from: The Beaumont Enterprise, http://beaumontenterprise.com
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
