Christopher Andrew Salgado, 24, formerly of Oxnard, California, was sentenced to five years in federal prison on August 14, 2024, for his participation in a cocaine distribution conspiracy.
US District Judge W. Scott Hardy imposed the punishment.
An Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation found that Salgado played a crucial role in smuggling cocaine from California to Pennsylvania between March and September 2022.
He would have kilograms of cocaine mailed from California to his West Virginia home, and then drive the drugs to Pittsburgh International Airport. He would pick up a co-defendant arriving from California and transport both the narcotics and the individual to another co-defendant in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
Law enforcement authorities seized many cocaine shipments and discovered Salgado disposing of drug-related evidence. In August 2022, law authorities executed a search warrant at Salgado’s apartment, leading to the confiscation of approximately two kilograms of cocaine, a loaded pistol, and various drug paraphernalia.
Brendan J. McKenna, an assistant United States attorney, prosecuted the case.
