A former deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a drug trafficking organization since January 2020, federal authorities stated Friday.
According to a U.S Attorney’s Office news release, Mission resident Baldemar Cardenas, 36, would assist the organization by ensuring authorities only seized sham bundles of cocaine.
“Members of the group would receive kilogram quantities of highly-pure cocaine. They would then utilize small portions of the drug to create sham cocaine with very low purity,” stated the release.
The organization paid Cardenas $10,000 to provide authorities with the location of the fake bundles, authorities said in the release.
Officials would then seize “the multi-kilogram sham bundles of cocaine,” which were later determined to have contained a cocaine purity level of 1.5 %, according to authorities. He was also accused of attempting to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa has set the sentencing for June 14. Cardenas was permitted to remain on bond until the hearing.
Cardenas is currently facing a minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison.
The sheriff’s office also issued a news release Friday evening acknowledging the case. In its release, the sheriff’s office said it worked together with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA and Mission Police Department in the investigation.
