Two Houston men are headed to federal prison after a crystal meth case that started with an undercover buy and ended with agents hauling away roughly 133 kilograms of drugs. U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen handed each man a 162-month sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, in an announcement made March 23, 2026, after a two-day trial and a jury deliberation that wrapped up in under an hour.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, jurors found Edgar Prudencio Ruiz, 24, and Damian Lee Gutierrez, 24, guilty on Nov. 18, 2025. Judge Hanen later imposed identical 162-month prison terms plus five years of supervised release for each man. Prosecutors told the court the meth had been imported from Mexico and that Ruiz and Gutierrez had talked price and delivery details with what they believed was a buyer. The U.S. Attorney's Office also pushed the news out on X (formerly Twitter).
Houston residents get over 13 years following discovery of over 130 kilos of crystal meth. https://x.com/i/status/2036169421425623494
- U.S. Attorney SDTX (@USAO_SDTX) March 23, 2026
How investigators uncovered the haul
Trial testimony traced the case back to June 17, 2025, when an undercover officer met the men for a deal. Prosecutors said Ruiz and Gutierrez delivered five kilograms of meth in that buy. Not long after, a traffic stop and a K-9 alert led agents to a box inside a Toyota Tacoma that held multiple gallon-sized bags of suspected meth.
Investigators then secured a search warrant for a residence, where they seized roughly 122 one-kilogram bags. In all, authorities counted about 137 bags, nearly 133 kilograms of actual meth, along with two loaded 9mm pistols, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office press release.
Court proceedings and case record
The case was filed in the Houston Division as No. 4:25-CR-385 and tried before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen. Public docket entries reflect a two-day trial and the Nov. 18, 2025, guilty verdict. Court filings and related case documents are available through public online docket services and legal archives.
Legal note
Under federal law, trafficking offenses involving 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, or 500 grams or more of a mixture, carry a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence under 21 U.S.C. § 841. In this case, prosecutors pointed out that the roughly 133 kilograms cited in court eclipsed that threshold by a wide margin and used that quantity to help frame their arguments at sentencing.
Bigger picture: enforcement in the region
Prosecutors and local law enforcement have cast the case as part of a broader crackdown on high-volume meth distribution and the precursor chemicals that keep supply chains running. Federal authorities highlighted a record precursor-chemical seizure tied to the Port of Houston in 2025 as an example of the scale of trafficking they say they are confronting in the area.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation, with assistance from the Harris County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office, police departments in Houston, Pasadena, Stafford and La Porte, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer B. Lowery and Eric Smith prosecuted the case, and both men will remain in custody while awaiting transfer to a Bureau of Prisons facility.
