The owner of a Texas trucking company has been sentenced to 25 years in prison as part of a federal investigation of a Mexico-to-Chicago drug pipeline.
Jose Farias owned a trucking company in McAllen, Texas, and resided in Mexico. In 2015 and 2016, Farias arranged with truck drivers to transport dozens of kilograms of narcotics to the Chicago area hidden in the hollowed-out wheel axles of tractor-trailers. Farias supervised numerous traffickers who unloaded the trucks in the Chicago area and distributed the drugs to sellers. The traffickers then hid narcotics proceeds in the trucks for transport back to Texas and Mexico.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois, Farias’s drug trafficking organization used warehouses in Naperville and Sugar Grove, Illinois, as well as an abandoned auto lot in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago and an auto repair shop in Channahon, Illinois. During the investigation, law enforcement searched these locations and seized approximately 54 kilograms of heroin and nearly 17 kilograms of cocaine, as well as $630,200 in illicit cash proceeds.
In all, the drug trafficking organization distributed approximately 130 kilograms of heroin and approximately 45 kilograms of cocaine in the Chicago area, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Seven other defendants were also convicted in federal and state courts as part of the investigation.
A federal jury in Chicago in 2021 convicted Farias, 44, on drug conspiracy and possession charges. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey recently sentenced Farias to 25 years in federal prison.
Expect detour on I-30 in Little Rock this weekend
Opening all lanes on the new Interstate 30 westbound Arkansas River bridge will require a detour with traffic impacts over the weekend of Oct.11-14 in Little Rock and North Little Rock, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
This is the second of three phased traffic shifts planned in order to transition traffic onto the new river bridge and place traffic into its final alignment. Westbound traffic is encouraged to find an alternate route during the duration of the detour.
Construction on I-30 will require a closure of all westbound lanes with detours from 10 p.m., Friday, Oct.11 through 5 a.m., Monday, Oct.14. This work will not impact I-30 eastbound or ramp traffic.
The following detour will take place over the weekend.
- I-30 westbound traffic will be reduced to one lane in North Little Rock before crossing the river bridge and will be detoured onto the new downtown Little Rock exit to 4th Street (Exit 140) in Little Rock
- I-30 westbound traffic will continue onto the southbound frontage road and use the 9th Street on-ramp to access I-30 westbound
- Interstate 630 westbound traffic will continue onto the southbound frontage road and use the newly opened ramp to I-630 westbound
See detour map NR 24-306-A for additional information
The following new traffic patterns will take place after the weekend of Phase 2:
- There will be a total of six lanes on the I-30 westbound river bridge
- Traffic must decide to exit to downtown Little Rock BEFORE crossing the river bridge; to access downtown Little Rock, traffic will use the two right lanes; to access I-30 westbound, traffic will use the two left lanes
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