State trooper found 88 pounds of meth in 36 bags in trunk of car on I-70
MISSOURI — The third and final defendant in a Missouri meth trafficking bust was sentenced this week to over 11 years in federal prison, according to the DEA.
The three Mexican nationals, who all lived in Chicago, were imprisoned for 11 years and 6 months each without parole.
They were stopped on Interstate 70 in Missouri over three years ago by a state trooper, who found over 88 pounds of methamphetamine in 36 bags in cardboard boxes in the car’s trunk.
The state trooper also found over $5,000 and a loaded .380-caliber handgun with an extra gun clip in the door console when the car was stopped in Saline County, which is between Columbia and Kansas City, Mo., in April of 2021.
The final defendant federally sentenced Thursday in Kansas City was 32-year-old Juan Emilio Gomez-Padilla, who was a passenger in the car and pleaded guilty this year to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
The other two defendants in the case are brothers Jose Alfredo Renteria-Rojas, 35, and Gustavo Renteria-Rojas, 40, who was the driver. They also pleaded guilty to taking part in a drug-trafficking conspiracy with the extra charge of illegally possessing a firearm.
The DEA and Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case.
