Kansas City, KS, Man Sentenced to Life In Federal Drug Trafficking Case

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kan., man was sentenced Monday to life in federal prison for drug trafficking, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Juan Manuel Lopez-Garcia, 27, a citizen of Mexico who lived in Kansas City, Kan., was convicted by a jury in January on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Lopez-Garcia was the main supplier of methamphetamine to a drug trafficking ring that operated in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Lopez-Garcia, who was from Sinaloa, Mexico, received 50 to 60 kilograms of methamphetamine from his brother, who was a high ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Lopez-Garcia paid for methamphetamine shipments he received by arranging to send payments in the form of $50,000 to $80,000 in cash at a time to Mexico in vehicles with hidden compartments. Lopez-Garcia was arrested Sept. 5, 2014, at a residence in the 400 block of Shawnee in Kansas City, Kan.

Beall commended the FBI, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Ward and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania for their work on the case.