St. Cloud man sentenced in multi-state drug trafficking organization

A St. Cloud man was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison on a felony drug charge. His case was linked to a drug operation headquartered in St. Cloud that reached across state and national borders, according to court records.

Hernando Nambo-Salas, who had no prior U.S. criminal history of note, pleaded guilty in January to importing drugs across state borders.

He must spend two-thirds of his sentence in prison with the remaining 40 months on supervised release, if he does not have disciplinary actions while in prison. He will be credited with 344 days served.

Nambo-Salas wrote a letter to the judge to provide more information about himself, which was read before his sentencing.

"I admit that I am guilty," Nambo-Salas said in his letter, "and I ask for the opportunity to prove to the court I am a good person and a good citizen."

MORE: St. Cloud man pleads guilty in multi-state drug trafficking organization

He also asked the court to consider his wife and two children. He did not have any previous crimes on his record, according to his lawyer, and has been a model inmate at the Stearns County Jail.

The maximum sentence for importing drugs across state borders is 35 years in prison and a $1.2 million fine.

At least nine more people have been charged in the case after an investigation that took almost four years, according to court documents

The three-state investigation has drawn in the FBI, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Central Minnesota Violent Offenders Task Force.

During the investigation, authorities purchased or seized more than 44 pounds of methamphetamine that was regularly trafficked in from Mexico and across state lines into Minnesota.

In February, Francisco Uribe Nambo-Chacon, another man connected to the organization, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for importing drugs across state lines, according to court records.

At least two people believed to be connected to the drug distribution ring have ongoing court cases.

The following men have been charged in the drug trafficking operation:

Mauricid Barragan

Teofilo Landa Ortiz

William Camacho Barragan

Jonathan Woods

David Lee Tyson

Terry Eugene Glasgow

Lamont Jermaine Tyson

Hernando Nambo-Salas

Francisco Uribe Nambo-Chacon

Scott Anthony Reiff