Former Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputy sentenced in drug trafficking scheme
A 39-year-old McAllen man was sentenced Tuesday after admitting to participating in a drug trafficking scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas.
Baldemar Cardenas pleaded guilty to a charge of conviction of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine in April 2022. He was a deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the offense, a news release stated.
Cardenas will serve 46 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the news release, Cardenas worked with a drug trafficking organization in Jan. 2020.
As part of the scheme, members of the organizations would highly receive high-purity cocaine, which was then diluted to “create sham cocaine with very low purity.”
Cardenas then tipped off law enforcement officers of the bundles, which would then be seized by them.
“The information would enable authorities to conduct the seizure of the low purity cocaine, allow co-conspirators to avoid responsibility for stealing the cocaine from their source of supply and the distribution of the stolen cocaine for profit,” the news release stated.
Cardenas resigned from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office in March 2020 amid an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
A previous news release said Cardenas received $10,000 in exchange for his role in the scheme.
According to the release, Cardenas remains out on bond and will voluntarily surrender to a prison facility in the near future.