California Leader of Large-Scale Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 188 months in Federal Prison

BOISE – Francisco Sandoval, 60, of Placentia, California, was sentenced on April 22, 2016, to 188 months in prison for his leadership role in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Sandoval to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison, and to forfeit $100,000 in drug proceeds.  Sandoval pleaded guilty on December 17, 2015.

According to the plea agreement, the defendant conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine from California to Idaho beginning in August 2014.  Sandoval was found to be the organizer and leader of the conspiracy.  In January 2015, Sandoval made arrangements to send eight pounds of high grade methamphetamine to Idaho.  Sandoval sent his then nineteen-year old son, Jorge Sandoval, to Idaho to ensure payment was received and returned to him.  Jorge Sandoval and three co-defendants were arrested in Meridian, Idaho, with the shipment of methamphetamine, which was seized by law enforcement.

“Sandoval’s sentence demonstrates that those who supply large quantities of methamphetamine, a highly addictive and dangerous drug, into our communities will be vigorously prosecuted,” said Olson.  “We hope this sentence will deter others who choose to profit from peddling this poison in our community.  This office will work together with its federal, state and local law enforcement partners to bring drug traffickers to justice.”

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department and the Nampa Police Department, as well as the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which includes the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and U.S. Marshals Service.  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.