Sinaloa Cartel member pleads guilty to drug charges in Arizona

PHOENIX — A 54-year-old Sinaloa Cartel member pleaded guilty to various drug charges on Monday, according to authorities.

The sentencing of Jose Guadalupe Tapia-Quintero is scheduled for Feb. 2, according to a Wednesday announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Tapia-Quintero played a key role in the cartel from December 2006 to March 2012, coordinating the transport and distribution of large amounts of drugs — such as methamphetamine — from Mexico into the U.S.

During this period, he helped hide who owned the money from drug sales in Arizona, prosecutors said. He managed the collection of these profits, which were stored in stash houses in Arizona and other locations.

Couriers working under his direction transported much of the money back to Mexico, where he and other Sinaloa Cartel members received it, prosecutors said.

How much time could Sinaloa Cartel member spend in prison?

The specific charges Tapia-Quintero pleaded guilty to were:

• Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine with intent to import into the U.S.
• Conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.

The first charge comes with a maximum penalty of life in prison and/or a fine of up to $10 million. It also comes with a term of supervised release of five years at minimum and life at maximum.

The second charge carries a maximum penalty of up to $500,000 — or twice the amount of laundered funds — along with a prison term of up to 20 years and up to three years of supervised release.

The Sinaloa cartel, named after its home state in Mexico, is the country’s oldest and most powerful criminal organization. It operates as a network of top drug lords and is most known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and heroin to the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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