Recruiter for Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison

EL PASO, Texas - A Mexican national was sentenced in El Paso to 245 months in prison for two counts related to her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, Karla Adriana Votta-Cardenas aka "Adriana," aka "Samantha," aka "Sophia," 43, of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, worked for a drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Jorge Sanchez-Morales, primarily trafficking methamphetamine. The organization imported liquid methamphetamine from Juarez, Mexico into El Paso, and then transported it to Atlanta concealed in the fuel tanks of semi tractors. In Atlanta, the liquid methamphetamine was converted to a crystalline form and distributed. Sanchez Morales oversaw the operation on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, otherwise known as CJNG.

Votta-Cardenas served as a large scale recruiter for the DTO, recruiting drivers through "help wanted" ads on social media. Votta-Cardenas recruited more than 20 drivers using this method, withholding the fact that they would be trafficking drugs.

Votta-Cardenas was arrested by Mexican authorities and extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on Nov. 1, 2023.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Spitzer and Nathan Brown prosecuted the case.

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