A Sinaloa Cartel kingpin was sentenced to 28 years in prison for shipping heroin, meth and cocaine to Alaska, an increasingly attractive target for drug lords looking to expand their narcotics pipelines, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
Miguel Baez “Javi” Guevara had evaded the U.S. government for 10 years following a sweeping indictment out of Arizona. He later fled to Mexico, where he expanded his enterprise to ship huge quantities of drugs into the U.S. Mexican immigration authorities deported him to in 2021 following a grand jury indictment in Alaska.
Guevara previously pleaded guilty to one count of continuing criminal enterprise and one count of drug conspiracy in January, the department said. The Sinaloa Cartel, co-founded by drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán , recruited couriers in Alaska through fake social media personas and encrypted messaging platforms.
Prosecutors say Guevara instructed the couriers how to smuggle drugs back to Alaska , where they were paid for the transport. The department said the drugs were then distributed locally throughout Alaska.