U-S Attorney Kevin Vanderschel said Monday, that on Friday of last week, 27-year old Francisco Javier Ledesma Santa Cruz, from Council Bluffs, was sentenced by a United States District Court Judge to 42 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ledesma Santa Cruz will serve one year of supervised release following his imprisonment.

On February 24, 2017, Ledesma Santa Cruz pleaded guilty and admitted he aided and abetted the possession of over one kilogram of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in Council Bluffs during August of 2016. Co-defendant Ramon Cisneros Aguilera was sentenced to 135 months imprisonment in April of 2017. The charge was the result of a drug trafficking investigation conducted by law enforcement in both Sioux City and Council Bluffs.

The Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Sioux City Police Department, Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department in Nebraska, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, and United States Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.