TAMPA, Fla. — A man found with 60 kilograms of methamphetamine in his luggage after arriving at Tampa International Airport from California is facing up to life in prison after pleading guilty to charges, said the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Hernan Cruz-Moreno, 24, of Earlimart, California, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Cruz-Moreno faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, on May 2, 2023, Cruz-Moreno and Agustin Ortiz-Sanchez, 22, of Thermal, California, flew from Los Angeles, California, to Tampa International Airport with four suitcases containing a total of 60 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and officers from the Tampa International Airport Police Department examined the luggage in a secure area of the airport, and a narcotics detection dog indicated there were drugs in the bags.
Cruz-Moreno and Sanchez-Ortiz later retrieved the bags and were arrested by officers conducting surveillance. Cruz-Moreno acknowledged that another person had paid him $2,000 to transport the luggage and said at the time that he didn’t know what was inside the bags but that he knew it was something illegal.
In November 2023, Ortiz-Sanchez pleaded guilty to the same offense. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 27, 2024.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Tampa International Airport Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs Jr is prosecuting it.
