Federal prosecutors say a Mexican national who smuggled thousands of kilograms of meth hidden in lettuce shipments into South Texas will spend 27 years in prison.
ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas — A Mexican national who led a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking operation supplying the San Antonio area has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
Prosecutors say Arturo Leija-Alvarado, 43, oversaw an international drug trafficking organization that smuggled well over 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States, often hiding the drugs inside large shipments of lettuce.
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Investigators say Leija had previously been deported from the United States at least three times and had multiple convictions for illegally reentering the country. After returning again in 2024, authorities say he coordinated several major meth shipments, including one containing approximately 500 kilograms.
The investigation led agents to a secluded property in Atascosa County, where the drugs were unloaded before being distributed throughout San Antonio and surrounding communities.
When federal agents executed a search warrant in October 2024, they discovered 63 kilograms of crystal meth, firearms and more than $21,000 in cash. Leija was arrested inside an RV on the property.
Two co-defendants also pleaded guilty. Francis Edward “Eddie” Hilliard was sentenced to 145 months in prison, while Richard William Aaron Patton is awaiting sentencing.
Federal officials said the investigation prevented thousands of lethal doses of methamphetamine from reaching South Texas communities.