Homeland Security Task Force Investigation Results in Texas Woman’s 24-Year Federal Prison Sentence

DEL RIO, Texas - As a result of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation, a Big Lake woman was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 288 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, on April 4, 2022, Anahi Sanchez, 28, approached the Del Rio Port of Entry driving a Chevrolet Camaro, and applied for entry into the United States from Mexico. Sanchez told the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) that she and her son, who was also in the vehicle, were returning to Big Lake after visiting family in Mexico. The CBPO referred Sanchez to a vehicle inspection, which resulted in the discovery of anomalies in the driver and passenger rear quarter-panels of the vehicle. A subsequent canine inspection resulted in a positive alert for narcotics, and a physical inspection revealed 30 packages hidden in a trap door near the rear driver side and passenger side wheel wells. All of the packages were determined to contain fentanyl, with a gross weight of 18 kilograms. Sanchez was placed under arrest on-site.

Law enforcement was able to determine that Sanchez was a regular and trusted courier for a transnational criminal organization and that she had crossed the international border numerous times in different vehicles loaded with narcotics. In total, she was held accountable for approximately 130 kilograms of fentanyl for her role in the criminal conspiracy. It was also determined by law enforcement that she typically took the narcotics to the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Sanchez was named in a five-count indictment on May 4, 2022, and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, conspiracy to import fentanyl, importation of fentanyl, and laundering of monetary instruments. On Dec. 16, 2022, Sanchez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This prosecution 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. HSTF comprises agents and officers from FBI; ICE HSI; DEA; ATF; U.S. Border Patrol; USMS; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation; IRS Criminal Investigation; Texas Department of Public Safety; as well as local police departments and sheriff's offices, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.

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