Woman from Mexico caught trafficking drugs to Wichita is headed to prison for 7 years

A woman caught by state troopers during her third trip delivering illegal drugs to Wichita is headed to federal prison for more than seven years.

Maria Alonso-Espinoza, 30, was sentenced Monday to 85 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release. She previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Alonso-Espinoza is a Mexican citizen, federal prosecutors said, and Sedgwick County Jail records show she was living in Evans, Colorado, at the time of her arrest.

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Jerrad Goheen on Feb. 26 pulled over a silver Chevrolet Tahoe that was eastbound on I-70 near Russell for an auto license violation, according to court documents. After obtaining consent to search the Chevy, Goheen found 19 packages hidden in a rear quarter panel containing a substance that field-tested positive for meth.

Law enforcement seized 21 pounds of meth during the traffic stop, prosecutors said.

Alonso-Espinoza told investigators that she was taking the drugs to Wichita for distribution. She said she had made two prior trips to the city, meeting a man in the parking lot of the Dillons grocery store at 21st and Amidon. She then returned to Colorado with bundles of cash.

The 21 pounds of meth would have a street value ranging from $73,500 to $105,000, according to Kansas Bureau of Investigation statistics. A 2018 KBI report — the most recent available — on meth in the state lists the price per pound between $3,500 and $5,000.

Despite reduced production in Kansas, the cost of the drug in the state has declined in recent years because of large quantities of low-cost, high-purity meth smuggled across the border from Mexico, the KBI report states.

This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 5:13 PM.