Ellis County woman sentenced for trafficking cocaine in the Eastern District of Texas

SHERMAN, Texas -An Ennis woman has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for trafficking cocaine in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Isabel Salas, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III on March 4, 2026.

According to information presented in court, in July 2022, federal agents began investigating a suspect who had been arrested with eight kilograms of heroin in Chicago. Salas was identified during this investigation, and a search warrant was executed at her Ennis residence on November 30, 2022, resulting in the seizure of over 600 grams of cocaine, eight firearms, and over $28,000 in U.S. currency.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Ellis County Sheriff's Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Wynne.

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