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McAllen, Texas – January 29, 2025 – A former Texas deputy sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for drug trafficking conspiracy, officials announced. Baldemar Cardenas, 39, of McAllen, Texas, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine.
A multi-agency investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Rio Grande Valley, coordinated with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, and Mission Police Department, uncovered the scheme. Cardenas pleaded guilty on April 1, 2022.
Court records reveal that in January 2020, Cardenas conspired with a drug trafficking organization to manipulate law enforcement seizures. The group received highly pure cocaine and diluted it to create sham cocaine with only 1.5% purity. Cardenas then provided false intelligence to authorities, leading to the seizure of 33 kilograms of the low-purity substance, allowing traffickers to retain and profit from the original high-purity cocaine.
The case highlights the dangers of law enforcement corruption and its impact on organized crime. Officials noted that Cardenas’s actions undermined public trust and facilitated drug trafficking operations in South Texas.
Cardenas remains on bond and will voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, yet to be determined.
