McALLEN -- A former Mexican police officer has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison after being convicted of involvement in international drug smuggling and money laundering.

Maria Antonietta "La Tony" Rodriguez Mata pleaded guilty this year to two counts of conspiracy related to hundreds of pounds of drugs shipped from northern Mexico to New York, according to a report in Saturday editions of The Monitor in McAllen.

She was extradited from Mexico to the United States during the summer and was sentenced Friday.

Authorities believe Rodriguez, who once served as an investigator with the Tamaulipas state police, also worked as one of the top traffickers for the Gulf Cartel.

"She certainly was a significant figure," said Will Glaspy, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's McAllen office. "It was unusual for a woman to rise to her level within a drug- trafficking organization."

Rodriguez, 39, was among 10 people charged with cocaine and marijuana trafficking and money laundering in a December 2000 indictment. Eight are serving prison sentences; charges against a ninth were dismissed.

Mexican authorities arrested Rodriguez in Monterrey, Mexico, in February 2004. She had remained in Mexican custody awaiting extradition.

Investigators say Rodriguez was part of a group that trafficked more than 100 pounds of marijuana and more than 176 pounds of cocaine in 2000. Prosecutors say the group laundered more than $170,000 in drug proceeds during that time.

Comments

(Requires free registration.)

0 comment(s) found!