Colorado Woman and Arizona Man Face Up to 20 Years and $1 Million Fine Each After Authorities in Louisiana Locate 10 lbs of Methamphetamine in Vehicle

New Orleans, Louisiana – A Colorado woman and an Arizona man face up to 20 years and a $1 million fine each after authorities in Louisiana locate 10 lbs of methamphetamine in a vehicle they were traveling in.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans has announced that Joanna Manzano, age 33, a resident of Colorado, and Kabien Cortes, age 34, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, pled guilty on April 12, 2023, to superseding bills of information charging them each with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841 (b)(1)(C), and 846.

According to court filings, on March 16, 2020, a drug supplier planned for the delivery of methamphetamine to the New Orleans, Louisiana area during a DEA investigation. On March 19, 2020, the DEA determined that a driver (Manzano) was transporting methamphetamine from Phoenix, Arizona to New Orleans, Louisiana, and would require money for expenses. The DEA also established that the methamphetamine was liquid and that another person would arrive in New Orleans later to convert the liquid methamphetamine to solid form.

The investigation revealed that Manzano traveled to New Orleans with Cortes. When Manzano and Cortes arrived in Louisiana, law enforcement authorities recognized their vehicle and followed them until they arrived in Metairie. Louisiana State Troopers performed a traffic stop on Manzano and Cortes on March 20, 2020, at around 11:50 p.m. After receiving consent to search the vehicle, troopers discovered that the truck's bed-liner had been removed and was being held in place by a rubber cord. A thorough investigation of the vehicle yielded the finding of roughly 4,576 grams of liquid methamphetamine in the vehicle's gas tank.

Manzano and Cortes each face a potential sentence of twenty years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000.00, at least three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment charge of $100.00.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Louisiana State Police investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney André Jones of the Narcotics Unit oversaw the prosecution.