Federal Jury in Chicago Convicts Man of Trafficking Meth to Illinois From California

CHICAGO - A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a man of trafficking methamphetamine to Illinois from California.

HUGO STEVEN DE LA CRUZ CORONA, 24, of San Jacinto, Calif., trafficked the meth on behalf of a Los Angeles-based drug trafficking organization that distributed narcotics throughout the country via the U.S. Postal Service. In October 2020, De La Cruz traveled to Chicago and attempted to pick up two parcels containing multi-pound quantities of meth that the organization had shipped from California. Unbeknownst to De La Cruz, law enforcement had intercepted both parcels and replaced the meth with sham drugs.

After a four-day trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the jury on Sept. 25, 2026, convicted De La Cruz of both drug charges against him. The convictions are punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah set sentencing for Jan. 20, 2027, at 1:30 p.m.

The convictions were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Nicholas Bucciarelli, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Ryan Whalen, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Todd C. Smith, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chester Choi and Holly Lanchantin.

The federal investigation was 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. The task force in this investigation was comprised of agents from USPIS, FBI, and DEA, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Four other defendants, including the leader of the drug trafficking organization-MARCO TORRES, SR., 49, of Hesperia, Calif.-pleaded guilty prior to trial. Torres Sr. is awaiting sentencing; a status hearing in his case is set for Oct. 13, 2026, at 10:15 a.m. The three other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of six years, five years, and 14 months.