TOPEKA, KAN. – Nine defendants have been sentenced to prison terms for their part in an international drug trafficking ring that brought large amounts of methamphetamine into Kansas, according to a media release from the Department of Justice.
In 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Riley County Police Department launched an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in the Manhattan and Salina area. Over time, law enforcement seized large quantities of methamphetamine during multiple traffic stops. As two examples, law enforcement seized 62.9 pounds of methamphetamine during one traffic stop and found 20 pounds after another traffic stop.
Through the course of the investigation, DEA agents concluded that Gonzalo Escobedo, 49, an illegal alien from Mexico, was acting as the local leader of the organization.
On multiple occasions, Escobedo instructed subordinates to pick up crystal methamphetamine and cocaine from suppliers in California and Arizona then return to Kansas for further distribution. Some co-conspirators also made trips to Mexico to bring back liquid methamphetamine that, once in Kansas, was then converted to crystal methamphetamine.
“Drug trafficking organizations with connections to international cartels reach far and wide, even to central Kansas,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “Often in these communities the drug operations will cross jurisdictions, which create barriers for law enforcement in identifying and disrupting the operation as a whole. When local and federal law enforcement agencies partner together, our communities receive a greater impact.”
According to court documents, the following defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. They were sentenced to the following prison terms:
• Gonzalo Escobedo, 49, was sentenced to 240 months
• Joseph K. Murdoch, 32, was sentenced to 240 months
• Manuel Meza, 31, was sentenced to 240 months
• Aaron Noonan, 32, was sentenced to 180 months
• Amanda Hubbard, 43, was sentenced to 180 months,
• Julisa Esparza, 26, was sentenced to 180 months
• Shelbie Louise Durham, 29, was sentenced to 126 months
• Harley David Blair, 46, was sentenced to 121 months
• Michael Anthony Jones, 51, was sentenced to 77 months.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Riley County Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Debenham prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.