A Sinaloa Cartel Leader living in Idaho was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on Wednesday.
Investigators say 44-year-old Hector Ojeda Manuel Aponte was known by multiple sources as the "number one guy" for the Sinaloa Cartel in Idaho.
According to court records, Aponte was distributing about 40 pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, and bath salts every one to two weeks. A news release from acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott also says Aponte had several vehicles to transport the drugs, stash houses to hide them, as well as business fronts to launder the drugs.
Aponte, from Honduras, is the sixth defendant sentenced following an investigation from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nampa Police Department Special Investigations Unit.
The five others previously sentenced include Lawrence Barnes (160 months in prison) Ernesto Diaz Gaspar (30 months in prison), Wilkin Rolando Martinez Munguia (36 months in prison), Cevin Alfonzo Martinez (42 months in prison), and Jesus DeJesus Loera (70 months in prison).
Whatcott said, “The United States Department of Justice is committed to eliminating the threat posed by Mexican drug cartels and their distribution of narcotics in Idaho.”
