Rancho Cordova man pleads guilty to money laundering, drug smuggling
A Rancho Cordova man, Adan Navarro, 29, pleaded guilty yesterday to multiple charges of money laundering and smuggling illegal narcotics at US District Court in Sacramento.
Among the narcotics smuggled were heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl pills. Additionally, Navarro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute those narcotics and conspiracy to launder money to Mexico.
Prosecutors presented evidence that on June 2, 2020, Navarro coordinated and received a $20,000 cash payment on behalf of a Mexico-based drug trafficker in order to pay down a multi-kilogram heroin debt and to facilitate future larger shipments of heroin. On July 24, 2020, U.S. border agents seized a drug load that Navarro partially owned and coordinated.
The load was seized immediately after it crossed from Mexico into the United States and contained approximately 21 pounds of pure methamphetamine, 2 kilograms of heroin, and 977 fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription pills. Following this seizure, Navarro and an associate arranged to send additional money to a Mexico-based source of supply to coordinate a new shipment of drugs.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), with assistance from Customs and Border Protection, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Rancho Cordova Police Department, the Citrus Heights Police Department, and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.
Co-defendant Lionel Chavez pled guilty on March 21, 2023, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12, 2023.
Navarro will be sentenced on March 19, 2024. Navarro faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine on each of three drug trafficking counts, and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine for conspiracy to launder money
