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A California man who flew repeatedly to the Midwest as a drug courier has been sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison after federal agents intercepted him at the Indianapolis International Airport with two suitcases packed with methamphetamine.
Cesar Alexander Pineda-Penaloza, 21, pleaded guilty to possessing more than 500 grams of meth with intent to distribute. Prosecutors said he spent nearly two years transporting drugs and trafficking proceeds on commercial flights between the West Coast and the Midwest.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt last week issued Pineda-Penaloza’s sentence, which also includes four years of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Caraballo Colon prosecuted the case.
On Nov. 9, 2024, agents stopped Pineda-Penaloza at baggage claim after he arrived in Indianapolis on a one-way flight from California. Inside his luggage, investigators found 19.76 kilograms—about 45 pounds—of pure meth.
U.S. Attorney Tom Wheeler said federal and local officers moved in as soon as Pineda-Penaloza landed, preventing the shipment from reaching Indiana communities.
“The defendant foolishly thought he could stroll off a plane in Indianapolis with suitcases full of meth and no one would be the wiser,” Wheeler said in a news release. “He was gravely mistaken.”
Leaders from Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Indiana State Police and the Plainfield Police Department all framed the case as an example of coordinated enforcement aimed at interstate drug trafficking.
The investigation was part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative targeting drug organizations and related criminal activity.
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