Couple Sentenced in Idaho for Trafficking More Than 50 Pounds of Meth from California to Minnesota

POCATELLO – Sergio Javier Varela-Vallecillo, 30, and his wife, Felicia Inez Varela, 29, of Navasota, Texas, were sentenced today in United States District Court for possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The defendants appeared before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

Varela-Vallecillo, a Honduran national, was sentenced to 70 months in prison; he will be deported following his release. Felicia Varela was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. The defendants pleaded guilty to the one-count indictment on November 26, 2013. The government is seeking forfeiture of assets derived from the offense conduct.

According to plea agreements filed in the case, on March 9, 2013, the defendants were stopped by an Idaho State Police trooper while traveling in a U-Haul truck on U.S. Highway 20 in Idaho Falls. In the back of the truck, officers found approximately 50 pounds of methamphetamine and a large quantity of cocaine. The defendants admitted they knew the substance they were transporting was methamphetamine and they were transporting it from California to Minnesota with the intention of delivering it to another individual in Minnesota.

The case was investigated by Idaho State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).