Feds Disrupt Tex-Mex Cocaine Pipeline

Three people accused of funneling cocaine from Mexico through Texas and into the Pittsburgh area have been convicted in federal court on the charges.

Emilio Carmona-Cepeda, an illegal alien from Mexico and Mario Soto of Texas, were convicted on federal drug trafficking charges and each sentenced to spend 10 years in a federal prison. The third person, Marquetta Mitchell of Penn Hills, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in August.

Federal drug enforcement agents and said they disrupted the large Tex-Mex cocaine pipeline that included 25,000 packets of crack cocaine with a street value of more than $500,000.

The investigation also included five other local police departments, four of which are located in the western part of Allegheny County.  Findlay, North Fayette, Coraopolis, Robinson and Wilkins police departments assisted the federal government and state police troopers with the investigation and prosecution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Lenhardt prosecuted this case in April before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Alan Bloch.

This article originally appeared on Chartiers Valley Patch.

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