Federal prosecutors say a Mexican national illegally residing in Arizona with criminal ties to Sioux City has been sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering in 2019.
Jorge Navarrete became the first person since 2006 to receive a life sentence in Nebraska for a federal drug crime.
Prosecutors say Navarrete brokered meth transactions between Mexico-based cartel operatives and local drug traffickers in Omaha as wells as Iowa, including the Sioux City area and Minnesota.
Co-defendants testified that Navarette employed drivers who made at least six trips from Arizona to Omaha, transporting no less than eight to 12 pounds of methamphetamine.
In addition to the life sentence for distribution of methamphetamine, Navarrete was found guilty of money laundering and two counts of conspiracy to launder money.
Out of the 21 defendants in the investigation, 16 were Mexican nationals and/or U.S. citizens born in Mexico.
All 21 defendants were repeat felony-offenders and repeat drug offenders.
