A 26-year-old Mexican national was sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison for leading a Charlotte-area drug trafficking cell linked to a major Mexican cartel, prosecutors announced.

Elián René Fabián Valladolid received a 262-month sentence for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. He will be deported after serving his sentence.

Between 2022 and 2023, Valladolid led a local cell of a drug trafficking organization with ties to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, according to court documents.

Valladolid oversaw drug distribution activities and recruited other members into the organization.

Federal agents discovered that the operation used warehouses in Charlotte as warehouses. During a raid on one of the warehouses, investigators seized several kilograms of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl, along with drug processing equipment, including scales, a press and drug adulteration substances.

The drug trafficking conspiracy involved 9.6 kilograms of methamphetamine, 2.7 kilograms of fentanyl, 1.9 kilograms of heroin and 648 grams of cocaine, prosecutors said.

“This case is one example of many that demonstrate that our focus on cartels and their associated drug trafficking organizations is working,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “We are infiltrating these organizations and dismantling them from the top.”

Valladolid received an aggravated sentence due to his leadership role in the organization. The case was prosecuted by the Charlotte office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina as part of a federal task force focusing on transnational criminal organizations.

The investigation involved multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies working to dismantle the Mexico-based drug trafficking network operating in the Carolinas.