A San Diego man will spend the next two decades in federal prison on drug trafficking charges after he brought nearly 68 pounds of drugs in suitcases to a hotel in Southern California last fall.
According to an announcement from the office of Nicole T. Hanna, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Salvador Delrio, 46, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson to 20 years behind bars.
On Sept. 5, 2018, Delrio walked into a hotel in Torrance, California, carrying two suitcases. One of the suitcases held 59.1 pounds of methamphetamine, investigators said, while the second held 8.9 pounds of the synthetic opioid, fentanyl.
Delrio was busted at the hotel as part of a law enforcement operation and was arrested on the spot. According to the Department of Justice, the drug trafficking suspect was also carrying a loaded .45-caliber Colt firearm in his waistband.
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On April 25, 2019, Delrio pleaded guilty to three felonies in connection with his September 2018 arrest: possession with intent to distribute meth, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to a press release from Hannaβs office, Delrio has a lengthy criminal record.
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His rap sheet includes felony convictions in California state court for possession of methamphetamine in 1993 and transportation and sales of a controlled substance in 1995. In 1996, he was convicted of the unlawful taking of a vehicle and in 2003, carjacking, according to court documents.
Delrioβs recent narcotics trafficking case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.