HOUSTON, TX – A 41-year-old Mexican national has been ordered federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute 116 kilograms of methamphetamine and for unlawfully possessing ammunition and multiple weapons, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division Jonathan C. Pullen and U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Eustorgio Quiroz-Salto pleaded guilty July 11, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett has now ordered Quiroz-Salto to serve a total of 240 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that described his prior convictions for cocaine trafficking in the Southern District of Florida in 2011. In addition, Judge Bennett ordered the forfeiture of all weapons and ammunition seized.
“Public safety begins with taking the most dangerous recidivists off the street,” said Ganjei. “When a defendant, like the one here, illegally enters our country three times, engages in drug trafficking despite having prior drug convictions, and illegally possesses firearms, he better believe we’re going to come looking for him.”
“Not only was Quiroz-Salto in the country illegally, but when Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents arrested him, they uncovered a substantial amount of methamphetamine destined for our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan C. Pullen of the DEA – Houston Division. “He was caught in the act, selling deadly drugs near a place of worship, and now he’ll spend two decades behind bars paying the price for his reckless actions that threatened to destroy lives.”
On Dec 12, 2023, Quiroz-Salto arranged to deliver over 20 kilograms of methamphetamine aka “ice” in the parking lot of a church in Crosby. When he arrived with Manuel Varjas Corona, authorities arrested both men and seized multiple kilograms of narcotics from their vehicle.
A subsequent search of the home where Quiroz-Salto resided resulted in the seizure of an additional 93.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 12 firearms, a silencer, 351 rounds of live ammunition and multiple firearm parts.
Quiroz-Salto had been removed in 2007 and 2008 and returned illegally. He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Corona, 51, a Mexican national who illegally resided in Houston, also pleaded guilty to his role and is set for sentencing at a later date. At that time, he faces up to life in prison.
DEA conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shelley J. Sullivan prosecuted the case.
