Mexican citizen gets 8 years for trafficking drugs

Prosecutors say 49-year-old defendant also was deported twice

SAN JOSE >> A federal judge on Monday sentenced a 49-year-old Mexican citizen to eight and half years in prison for his role in a drug-trafficking network, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Efrain Torres pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine. According to his plea agreement, Torres admitted he conspired with others to distribute heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine throughout the Bay Area between January and April 2017.

In addition, Torres admitted that on April 13, 2017, he was told to deliver 4 kilograms of methamphetamine to a co-conspirator. Prosecutors said Torres loaded the drugs into his car and started driving from San Jose to San Francisco, but he was involved in a pursuit and crashed. He left the drugs at the scene, where they were found by police.

Torres also pleaded guilty to one count of being found in the United States after removal and one count of being an alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition, prosecutors said.

According to his plea agreement, Torres admitted he is a Mexican citizen who was deported from the United States to Mexico in January 2011 and again in September 2016.

Prosecutors said Torres returned to the United States without permission after his second removal and possessed a 9 mm handgun while he was in the country illegally.

In addition to the 102-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick III sentenced Torres to a four-year period of supervised release, prosecutors said.

Torres is the 14th defendant to plead guilty and receive a significant sentence in the case.