OMAHA, Neb. — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Kansas City acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito and U.S. Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Emeterio Sepulveda-Moreno, 43, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced in an Omaha federal court May 9, 2024, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Sepulveda-Moreno to 135 months of imprisonment. After completing his term of imprisonment, Sepulveda-Moreno, who is not a U.S. citizen, will be removed to Mexico.
“HSI is committed to holding those accountable who recklessly distribute this poisonous substance into our communities,” said Zito. “The commitment of our special agents sends a clear message that the infiltration of drugs and criminal activities into our communities will not be tolerated.”
On June 22, 2021, a cooperating defendant was arrested after a search warrant executed on his Omaha residence revealed 28 one-pound packages of crystal meth and $18,754 in narcotics proceeds. In a post-arrest interview, the cooperator admitted to his involvement in distributing meth and identified Sepulveda-Moreno as an individual responsible for delivering hundreds of pounds of meth to Omaha, including the 28 pounds found in the cooperator’s possession. The cooperator described a June 19, 2021, delivery of drug proceeds to Sepulveda-Moreno at an Omaha gas station in exchange for the meth he was caught with two days earlier. Agents retrieved video surveillance from the gas station showing the cooperator giving Sepulveda-Moreno a black suitcase containing drug proceeds. A short time later at a different location, Sepulveda-Moreno delivered the meth to the cooperator.
The $18,754 seized was previously forfeited to the United States as proceeds from narcotics trafficking, and the cooperator was previously sentenced to 151 months of imprisonment.
Learn more about our mission to combat drug trafficking in our community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSIKansasCity.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.