​A former police officer in McAllen, Texas, was sentenced to serve 324 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons as punishment for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy which spanned a period of at least eight years starting in 1996, U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno announced on Tuesday.

Francisco Meza-Rojas, 45, was identified as a leader of a smuggling organization which operated on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande River between Granjeno and Penitas, a rural area south of Mission, Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Meza-Rojas and an associate, Jose Moncerrat Narvaez, led the part of a larger organization which specialized in the transportation of controlled substances from the edge of the Rio Grande River to locations in the Mission and McAllen areas where they would be held until the owners of the drugs picked them up.

Meza-Rojas used his brothers, as well as other individuals, to act as lookouts during the smuggling operations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. He would strategically place his workers along the smuggling route to call out the locations and movements of law enforcement vehicles throughout the area, the office said.

It was also not uncommon for members of the organization to use their vehicles in attempting to prevent law enforcement from stopping the drivers who were transporting the smuggled drugs, according to Moreno.

Meza-Rojas, a former police officer with the City of McAllen, was initially arrested on the charges contained in his indictment in April 2006. He again made headlines in September 2006 when he orchestrated the escape of himself and five other prisoners from the East Hidalgo Adult Detention Center in La Villa, Texas.

He was a fugitive for almost four years in Mexico until his capture and subsequent extradition back to the United States in July 2010. On October 5, Meza-Rojas pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana.

Meza-Rojas is the last of those currently in custody on the case to be sentenced. Ruben Meza, 44; Juan Antonio Meza, 40; Jesus Lorenzo Meza, 37; and Miguel Hernandez-Rojas, 50, all of Mission and all brothers of Meza-Rojas, were previously sentenced to terms ranging from 235 months (almost 20 years) to 27 months.

One brother, Osvaldo Meza, 38, of Mexico, remains a fugitive.

Numerous other individuals including Jorge Enrique Macias-Nevarez, 46, of Mexico; Jorge A. Duarte, 32, of Honduras; and Jose Moncerrat Narvaez, 46; Arturo Javier Hinojosa, 29; Robert Lee Rodriguez, 32; Andres Solis, 46; Moises A. Lopez, 30; and Juan Pablo Rangel, 45, all of Mission, Texas and the surrounding area, were previously sentenced to prison terms ranging from 262 months (almost 22 years) to 46 months.

In addition to Osvaldo Meza, two additional fugitives remain in the case. Meza and others who are charged but not yet convicted are presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law, points out the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation which led to the indictment in this case was conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies including the Texas Department of Public Safety, Customs and Border Protection – Office of Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the Starr County District Attorney’s Office, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and police departments in Mission, McAllen, Waslaco, Pharr, and San Juan, Texas.

U.S. District Court Judge Randy Crane handed down the 27-year sentence on Tuesday in federal court in McAllen.