A Mexican national has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to methamphetamine trafficking and illegal reentry into the United States. Apolinar Gocovachi Pacheco, 25, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark, admitting to one count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one count of unlawful reentry after removal.
The incident began on September 3, 2024, when a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped a gray 2011 Acura MDX on Interstate 29 near the N.W. 112th Street exit in Kansas City, Missouri. The vehicle was occupied by an adult male driver without a valid license, a female juvenile in the front passenger seat, and two adult males—including Pacheco—in the back seat.
During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement found approximately 55.6 pounds of methamphetamine in a duffle bag located in the third-row seating area. An additional pound of methamphetamine was discovered in a grocery bag on the floorboard where the female juvenile had been sitting. A loaded firearm was also recovered from the driver’s door pouch.
When asked to exit the vehicle for the search, two adult male occupants fled on foot but were apprehended shortly afterward following a manhunt.
Pacheco told investigators he had arrived in the United States about two weeks earlier from Nogales Sonora, Mexico. He stated that he crossed into the country illegally after paying $6,000 and that he had been asked by another occupant of the Acura to travel from Kansas City, Kansas to Omaha to pick up drugs. Pacheco said he was promised significant payment for helping transport drugs from Omaha back to Kansas City.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers confirmed that Pacheco had previously been found illegally present near Nogalez, Arizona by Border Patrol Agents on August 22, 2024; he was removed to Mexico that same day.
Under federal law, Pacheco faces between five and forty years in prison without parole for these offenses. The actual sentence will be determined by the court after considering advisory guidelines and other statutory factors following completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh is prosecuting this case. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI, DEA, Jackson County Drug Task Force, Kansas City Police Department (Missouri), and Missouri State Highway Patrol.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative coordinated by federal authorities aiming to address illegal immigration and dismantle transnational criminal organizations through collaboration among various law enforcement task forces.
