Omaha Man Sentenced for Meth Conspiracy

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Luis Avelar, age 28, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced January 22, 2025, in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Avelar to 262 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Avelar's release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.

Beginning in 2020, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents identified Avelar as a suspect involved in meth distribution in the Omaha area. On March 11, 2020, Avelar was seen leaving an apartment with a backpack where a confidential source later purchased one pound of meth from someone else. On April 18, 2023, another confidential source attempted to purchase a half-pound of meth from Avelar. Avelar went with the confidential source to meet Avelar's supplier, but the sale did not occur because the supplier refused to sell less than one pound.

On December 30, 2023, DEA agents interviewed Avelar at the Douglas County Jail. After being advised of his rights, Avelar admitted to his role in meth distribution. Avelar told the agents he started selling meth in Omaha in 2020. Avelar told agents he sold a pound of meth for a Mexico-based drug supplier four or five times. Avelar also said he rented a storage unit for meth to be stored. After someone was busted in a hotel, Avelar went to the storage unit and cleaned it out, delivering at least 10 pounds of meth to a co-conspirator's house. Investigators confirmed that Avelar rented a storage unit in Omaha from November 7 to November 23, 2022. The unit was rented in the name of Avelar's girlfriend. Avelar was identified via surveillance footage being at the storage facility on November 23, 2022, the same day Bellevue police had busted someone with 11 pounds of meth in a motel room.

This case was investigated by <_w3a_listitem listvalue="[CHOOSE AN AGENCY]" datavalue="[CHOOSE AN AGENCY]"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. " datavalue="the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. "><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Drug Enforcement Administration." datavalue="the Drug Enforcement Administration."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Federal Bureau of Investigation." datavalue="the Federal Bureau of Investigation."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Department of Homeland Security." datavalue="the Department of Homeland Security."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Homeland Security Investigations." datavalue="Homeland Security Investigations."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Immigration and Customs Enforcement." datavalue="Immigration and Customs Enforcement."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Internal Revenue Service." datavalue="the Internal Revenue Service."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="IRS Criminal Investigations." datavalue="IRS Criminal Investigations."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force. " datavalue="the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force. "><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Lincoln Police Department." datavalue="the Lincoln Police Department."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Nebraska State Patrol." datavalue="the Nebraska State Patrol."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Omaha FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force" datavalue="the Omaha FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Omaha Police Department." datavalue="the Omaha Police Department."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the Postal Inspection Service." datavalue="the Postal Inspection Service."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="the U.S. Secret Service." datavalue="the U.S. Secret Service.">the Drug Enforcement Administration. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.