An El Paso man pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to distribute cocaine as part of a trafficking operation that involved the delivery of $400,000 worth of drugs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced.
Israel Trevino, 29, admitted to transporting 20 kilograms of cocaine in October 2022 along with his co-conspirator, Lesly Janeth Ibarra, 26, also from El Paso. Trevino faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and could be sentenced to life in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had obtained information indicating that co-conspirators James Mirabal and Jonathan Beharry were planning to receive a 20-kilogram cocaine shipment. DEA agents monitored Beharry as he met Trevino and Ibarra in a parking lot. Trevino, driving a Texas-registered truck, handed Beharry a suitcase containing the drugs.
After unloading the cocaine in his Baldwin Park apartment, Beharry returned the empty suitcase to Ibarra, who placed it back into the couple’s rental truck.
Following the operation, law enforcement agents searched Beharry’s apartment and recovered the 20 kilograms of cocaine delivered by Trevino and Ibarra. They also found $14,020 of the $20,000 they were paid for the delivery, along with the original suitcase still in the truck.
Records revealed that Ibarra had remained in contact with the Mexican cocaine supplier during this delivery and at least one previous trip to Orlando.
Mirabal and Beharry, who were also involved in the conspiracy, were sentenced in 2023 to 15 and 9 years in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in the operation.
