Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Meth Trafficking

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national pleaded guilty in federal court today for possessing more than 56 pounds of methamphetamine and for entering the United States illegally after deportation.

Apolinar Gocovachi Pacheco, 25, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of unlawful reentry after removal.

On Sept. 3, 2024, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a gray 2011 Acura MDX on Interstate 29, near the N.W. 112^th Street exit in Kansas City, Mo.  An adult male, who did not have a valid driver’s license, was driving the Acura, with a female juvenile in the front passenger seat and Pacheco and another adult male in the back seat.

When the trooper searched the vehicle, he found a large duffle bag in the third-row seating area that contained approximately 55.6 pounds of methamphetamine. He also found a grocery bag that contained approximately one pound of methamphetamine on the floorboard where the female juvenile had been sitting, and a loaded firearm in the driver’s door pouch.

When the four occupants got out of the vehicle for the search, two of the adult males fled on foot. A manhunt ensued and both were apprehended a short time later.

Pacheco told investigators that he arrived in the United States approximately two weeks earlier from Nogales Sonora, Mexico.  Pacheco said he entered the United States illegally and paid $6,000 to cross the border.  Pacheco said he was asked to travel from Kansas City, Ks., to Omaha to pick up drugs by one of the adult males that was traveling with him in the Acura. Pacheco said he was promised to receive a significant amount of U.S. currency by the adult male for assisting with the transportation of the drugs from Omaha to the Kansas City area.

Officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Pacheco had previously been found illegally in the United States by Border Patrol Agents near Nogalez, Arizona on Aug. 22, 2024.  Pacheco was removed from the United States to Mexico that same day.

Under federal statutes, Pacheco is subject to a sentence of not less than 5 years and up to 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the FBI, DEA, Jackson County Drug Task Force, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Operation Take Back America

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).