Magee Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

Jackson, MS - A Magee man pleaded guilty on Wednesday, February 18th in federal court to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, joint operations between the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that Santos Vidal Estrada, 34, was distributing dangerous narcotics from his rural residence in Simpson County. Following multiple operations, a federal search warrant at Estrada's home on October 23, 2025, found large quantities of methamphetamine with purity rates of 100%. A criminal complaint was filed on October 24, 2025 and Estrada was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 5, 2025.

Santos Estrada is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21, 2026, and faces a mandatory minimum of not less than ten years and not more than life in prison, not more than a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any period of incarceration. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Baxter Kruger of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Brett Grantham is prosecuting the case.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Mississippi Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline). HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).