A former police officer in Nogales, Sonora has been sentenced to five years in prison in a methamphetamine trafficking case, authorities say.
Omar Moreno-Miranda, 33, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Chief Judge Raner C. Collins in a case that started in October 2016. He also was served five additional years of supervised release after pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
An undercover DEA officer was in contact with Moreno-Miranda to arrange the purchase of drugs as part of a multi-agency investigation. Moreno-Miranda was an officer in the police department in Nogales, Sonora at the time, according to a DEA news release Thursday.
Moreno-Miranda was arrested on May 30, 2017 after he drove from Sonora to a hotel near Tucson. He had 11 pounds of methamphetamine in a backpack inside the vehicle he drove, the release said.
βNo matter the country, officers who engage in drug trafficking betray the trust of the community they are sworn to protect and smear the profession for those law enforcement officials who serve with integrity,β Doug Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of DEA in Arizona, said in the release.
