A Texas drug ring has seen its members slapped with lengthy prison sentences for pushing powder by the kilo. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas spilled the details, announcing that five men have been locked up for their hand in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy that spanned borders.

According to a press release from the Justice Department, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane dished out hefty prison terms to the group, which included 151 months for 60-year-old Martin Vela-Alanis, and 46 months behind bars for Arlando Garcia-Garcia, aged 41. Each member of the crew had previously pleaded guilty for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

Martin Adrusbel Vela, 36, Oscar Obed Manzanares, 23, and Jose Santiago Luna-Duran, 46, a Mexican citizen, will also hear the slammer's door shut for 87, 60, and 46 months, respectively. Not exactly free birds, Vela-Alanis, Garcia-Garcia, and Luna-Duran, none U.S. citizens, are expected to be put on the fast track for removal from the U.S. after their stints in the big house.

During the sentencing, it emerged that this operation was no small-time hustle. Traffickers were moving shipments of the white stuff every few weeks. "The court heard evidence that this was a pervasive organization," as the press release stated. Chief Crane highlighted the drug ring's involvement in "not just the importation and transportation of large quantities of cocaine, but also the transport and distribution of the drug proceeds."

The cogs of the drug machine clicked loud enough to catch the law's ear back in March 2022. That's when Manzanares, in a GMC truck, made either shady dealings in McAllen, only for Luna-Duran to ferry the vehicle to a property under surveillance in Edinburg. There, authorities watched the switcheroo of contraband between the GMC and a Ford pickup truck, which Garcia-Garcia then drove to a nearby home, leading to a duffel bag stuffed with what turned out to be cocaine and a windfall of over $90,000 in cash during a raid.

In what seemed like a Hollywood set piece, a black and gold Colt Model 1911 pistol was also found, adding a dash of danger to the evidence on hand. Meanwhile, the GMC Manzanares had piloted held a trove of over $238,000 in bulk cash, snagged upon their detainment.

The lab boys chimed in later, verifying those powdery bundles as cocaine and tallying up an entire 15 kilograms. The men now await their transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to start counting the days. The mechanic of the group, 56-year-old Jose Bernando Gonzalez-Gomez from Mexico, who handled the drug-swapping logistics, is set for his day in court on May 2.

Homeland Security Investigations spearheaded the bust, but they didn't go it alone. The net cast included Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, and a roll call of Texas police departments in Hidalgo, Mission, McAllen, Alton, Pharr, and Palmview. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Fry and Peter I. Brostowin prosecuted the case, ensuring these traffickers would trade their free air for prison fare.