Lieutenant for Mexican Drug Cartel pleads Guilty in ND

A 45-year old Tijuana (Mexico) man has pleaded guilty to a series of drug charges in North Dakota in connection with a major trafficking operation.

U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider says Juan Sillas-Rocha was indicted in late March by a grand jury on three counts: Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substance…..Continuing Criminal Enterprise…and Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Furtherance of the Continuing Criminal Enterprise.

The case made its way to North Dakota after a drug cartel member ordered the killing of a man for failing to pay for five pounds of meth that came from Sillas-Rocha. That victim turned out to be Lee Avila who was shot nine times in East Grand Forks in 2005. The drug trafficking case became known as “Operation Sped Racer.”

Sillas-Rocha was extradited to the United States and made his initial appearance in North Dakota on September 9, 2022.

As part of “Operation Speed Racer” 66 defendants were charged on 18 separate indictments. The latest guilty plea brings the 19-year investigation to a conclusion.

This case was investigated by over a dozen federal…state…and local law enforcement agencies including the Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force and East Grand Forks Police Department.

Sentencing will be scheduled at a later time.