A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for conspiring to transport thousands of pounds of marijuana from South Texas and distributing it in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that Marco Antonio Marchan began working with the Los Zetas drug cartel in 2008 to move the drug from Laredo and into North Texas.
They say in one shipment alone, Marchan coordinated the distribution of 5,500 pounds of marijuana in November 2009. A person involved in the conspiracy notified federal authorities, which led to a surveillance operation and then Marchan's arrest.
He was convicted by a federal jury in December.
Prosecutors also said Marchan obstructed justice by attempting to intimidate a witness scheduled to testify against him.
