Dallas Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Methamphetamine from Mexico

A Dallas man was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine he received from Mexico, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.

"Ejecting transnational drug traffickers from our streets is critical to protecting North Texas," said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. "This criminal spilled poison into our communities in exchange for money. All credit for the conviction and 40-year prison sentence goes to our heroes in law enforcement and our line prosecutor, who worked in close collaboration with the Dallas Homeland Security Task Force."

"The sentence of Mr. Mejia-Mendoza sends clear message to drug traffickers that they will be held accountable for the distribution of poisonous drugs and violence in North Texas," said Joseph B. Tucker, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Division. "This investigation demonstrates what coordinated, intelligence-driven, law enforcement can accomplish. The men and women of DEA and our partners remain committed to pursuing and dismantling foreign terrorist organizations that endanger Americans."

"This lengthy sentence is another success for the Dallas Homeland Security Task Force. Our collective effort resulted in a member of a transnational criminal organization being held accountable for trafficking narcotics into the Dallas area," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock.

Orlando Gerardo Mejia-Mendoza, of Dallas, Texas, pled guilty in June 2025, to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records, in 2023, Mejia-Mendoza was receiving shipments of liquid methamphetamine from Mexico. Some of the shipments involved as much as 20 to 25 kilograms of methamphetamine at a time, for which Mejia-Mendoza paid $1,800 per kilogram. Court documents reflect that one Dallas apartment used by Mejia-Mendoza contained an active methamphetamine conversion laboratory used to convert methamphetamine from its liquid form to crystal methamphetamine. Agents found methamphetamine in various stages of conversion scattered about the apartment. In another apartment used by Meji-Mendoza, agents found multiple guns and cash.

On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown sentenced Mejia-Mendoza to 480 months in federal prison.

This case was part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

Dallas HSTF comprises agents from FBI, DEA, and HSI, who were assisted in this investigation by the Dallas Police Department, Coppell Police Department, and the Grand Prairie Police Department. The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.