Buna brothers sentenced for drug trafficking

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  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas seal
    U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas seal
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Two Buna, Texas brothers have been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking crimes in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox June 15.

James Joseph Fabela, 41, and Benjamin Jason Fabela, 36, each pleaded guilty on Nov. 15, 2019, to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and were each sentenced to 135 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone today. Ownership of their residence in Buna, Texas was also forfeited.

According to information presented in court, from as early as July 2016, the defendants have been involved in a drug trafficking enterprise trafficking methamphetamine in the Buna, Texas area. James Fabela and Benjamin Fabela have supervised, managed and controlled the drug trafficking organization with personal knowledge of the distribution of methamphetamine. In total, the organization sold more than 700 grams of methamphetamine in the Southeast Texas area. The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 5, 2018.

This case is the result of an extensive joint investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. Six other defendants have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the conspiracies.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rapp.