Arizona man sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to bring cocaine into the US

PHOENIX — An Arizona man was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison for attempting to traffic nearly 50 pounds of cocaine into the United States, authorities said.

Manuel Alejandro Beltran-Quintero, 35, of Tucson was sentenced to 120 months followed by four years of of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

He pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiring to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute.

Five other codefendants received sentences of up to 68 months in prison.

Cocaine trafficking conspiracy: Here’s what we know

Prosecutors said Beltran-Quintero in April 2020 organized the delivery of approximately 45 pounds of cocaine to Tucson. The drugs were intercepted, and Beltran-Quintero and his coconspirators were arrested.

During the investigation, it was learned that Beltran-Quintero in 2019 attempted to coordinate the smuggling of firearms into Mexico on three different occasions, prosecutors said. All of those firearms were intercepted by law enforcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case, which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation.

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