Dallas, TX – Hector Omar Segura-Lara, 36, and Jose Antonio Ortega-Silva, 33, both from Dallas, have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, announced that Segura-Lara will serve 108 months in prison, while Ortega-Silva will serve 37 months, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the men were stopped by troopers in a Chrysler 200. The vehicle’s occupants gave conflicting statements regarding their travel plans, prompting a consensual search of the car. Law enforcement discovered four kilograms of cocaine hidden in a car battery under the hood.
Both Segura-Lara and Ortega-Silva admitted they were on their way to Virginia to deliver the drugs, after receiving the vehicle in Dallas and driving it to Houston, where another individual loaded the drugs into the car. The men were instructed to deliver the cocaine to Virginia, where it would be offloaded, and $152,000 in cash was to be hidden in the same car battery. They were also told to return to Texas with the cash.
For their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy, Segura-Lara and Ortega-Silva each face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and at least three years of supervised release following their sentences.