Man sentenced to decades in prison for trafficking meth in commercial truck shipments of lettuce

The leader of an international methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy was sentenced to prison this week for smuggling drugs inside large commercial truckloads of lettuce, Texas officials said.

Mexican national Arturo Leija-Alvarado, 43, was sentenced to 27 years in prison on drug trafficking charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

Leija is accused of leading a drug trafficking ring that transported well over one thousand kilograms of methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States, for distribution in and around the San Antonio area.

Most commonly, the group smuggled drugs inside large loads of lettuce.

Authorities said that Leija had already been convicted twice of illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal and had been removed from the United States on at least three separate occasions. After his most recent deportation, he illegally reentered the U.S. in the spring of 2024 and by May 2024 he was already coordinating a load of methamphetamine hidden in 16 pallets of lettuce.

During July, August, and September 2024, officials said that Leija coordinated and oversaw the smuggling of multiple additional large loads of methamphetamine within commercial shipment so lettuce.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement learned that Leija and other members of the drug trafficking organization were receiving the shipments of drugs at “a secluded property in Atascosa, Texas” and then distributing them to the San Antonio area.

After obtaining a federal search warrant, officers observed a semi-truck with a flatbed trailer entering the Atascosa ranch in October 17, 2024. “Immediately prior to executing the warrant, law enforcement observed a group of individuals, overseen by Leija, spend several hours using welding tools to cut open hidden compartments on the trailer,” officials said.

The search warrant was executed just after midnight on October 18, 2024. Agents found “dozens of packages of methamphetamine that had been wrapped in tape, covered in grease, and secreted inside of hidden compartments on the flatbed trailer that had been welded shut.”

Leija was located inside an RV on the property and arrested.

Agents located a firearm and $21,646.00 in U.S. currency in that RV, and another firearm elsewhere on the property.

Co-conspirators Francis Edward “Eddie” Hilliard and Richard William Aaron Patton were also arrested, the three men were charged with various offenses, including Conspiring to Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

All three men pleaded guilty.

Investigating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Antonio Police Department, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hondo Police Department.

“Mr. Leija ignored our immigration laws, ignored our drug laws, and ignored our gun laws,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. “However, he cannot ignore the fact that he will now spend the next couple of decades behind walls of steel and concrete. I want to thank our law enforcement partners who helped put this case together and to AUSA John Fedock, who carried this case through to the finish line.” 

“Drug traffickers smuggle more than just illegal drugs—they bring violence, fuel crime, and put American lives at risk with every shipment,” said DEA San Antonio Field Division Special Agent in Charge Miguel Madrigal. Through the dedicated efforts of DEA San Antonio and its law enforcement partners, thousands of lethal doses of illegal drugs were prevented from reaching San Antonio and communities across the nation. This prosecution is another victory that reflects the DEA’s unwavering commitment to protecting the public, disrupting drug trafficking organizations, and saving American lives.”