The alleged leader of a Sinaloa Cartel faction appeared in San Diego federal court today on charges related to the trafficking of major quantities of drugs.
Octavio Leal-Hernandez, 44, of Tijuana, was responsible for coordinating shipments of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana from Tijuana into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
His duties also included arranging for stash houses used to store drugs that were eventually transported throughout California and other locations throughout the country, prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Leal-Hernandez — who went by Chapito Leal — was a leader of the Beltran-Leyva faction of the Sinaloa Cartel for at least eight years. Prosecutors cited wiretap communications in court papers that allege Leal-Hernandez was tasked with supplying drug distributors in the U.S. and “committed acts of violence to facilitate his drug trafficking activities.”
Leal-Hernandez was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in May of 2020 and was extradited from Mexico on Wednesday. He will remain in custody without bond following Thursday’s hearing in San Diego.
-City News Service
