A Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to federal charges for trafficking large quantities of cocaine from California to the Pittsburgh area.
Jose Angel Sanchez, 33, admitted in a Pennsylvania federal court to conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, the United States Department of Justice announced Thursday.
His plea comes after a monthslong investigation into a drug trafficking operation that spanned multiple states.
Between March and September 2022, federal investigators with the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a federal drug enforcement program, tracked shipments of cocaine that Sanchez mailed from California to addresses in Pennsylvania, and later to his co-defendant in West Virginia.
After law enforcement intercepted a package containing two kilograms of cocaine bound for Pennsylvania, Sanchez allegedly changed his delivery location to the West Virginia residence of his co-defenant, Christopher Salgado.
Surveillance showed Salgado would then pick up Sanchez from the Pittsburgh International Airport and drive both him and the drug parcels to another co-defendant, Romaro Foster Sr., in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
In one instance, authorities stopped Salgado and Sanchez during a return trip to the airport. After releasing them, investigators observed Salgado discard a box in a fast food trash bin. The box had Salgado’s address and tested positive for cocaine residue, the DOJ said.
In total, law enforcement seized multiple parcels containing approximately six kilograms of cocaine between the two co-defendants. A search of Salgado’s home in August 2022 turned up another shipment from Sanchez with two more kilograms.
Sanchez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life, along with a fine of up to $10 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 2.
Salgado was previously sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the scheme.