Former Marine drug trafficker sentenced to 12 years

SAN DIEGO (KYMA, KECY) - A former Marine who was also a drug trafficker was sentenced in federal court to 144 months in prison for years of drug importation and distribution conspiracy involving dozens of smuggling events.

Roberto Salazar II was an active-duty Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar until he was arrested.

According to the Office of the U.S. Attorney Southern District of California, Salazar pleaded guilty in October 2022 to conspiring to distribute controlled substances and importing fentanyl into the U.S. from Mexico.

The Attorney's Office mentioned Salazar recruited, managed, and paid multiple drug couriers before joining the Marine Corps and while he was on active duty.

The press release included he personally distributed controlled substances in the U.S.

Court documents say Salazar and his co-conspirators used cars with a unique engine compartments they used to hide and import drugs.

Salazar was able to get these kinds of cars and deliver them to a business in Mexico where couriers can get the cars with the drugs inside and drive them across the border.

Prosecutors said when Salazar and his codefendants were arrested, Salazar was commissioning a Mexican songwriter to write a drug ballad known as a "narcocorrido" about him.

This information was taken from Salazar's seized cell phones where he was discussing the song with the songwriter about his role in drug trafficking and his military service.

The Attorney's Office mentioned Salazar recruited two former service members who were discharged from the Marine Corps and would pay them $2,000 each time they successfully imported drugs.

Several of the drug couriers and people who worked for Salazar have been caught at the border by Customs and Border Protection officers and charged with importing drugs.