Cartel-Linked Drug Trafficker Gets 20 Years for Pumping Meth into North Carolina

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Morrisville man will spend the next 20 years in federal prison for flooding North Carolina and the Southeast with methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs. Federal prosecutors held Julio Cesar Orozco-Gomez, 34, a naturalized citizen and cartel member, accountable after he pled guilty to the charges on September 30, 2024.

“This cartel thug poisoned our communities with meth and fentanyl and armed himself with high-powered weapons to protect his criminal business,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “Thanks to the work of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we dismantled a cartel pipeline and made North Carolina safer. This case shows that these dangerous drugs are not made in North Carolina, and the Cartel has to work to import this poison. Let me be clear – anyone who participates in such cartel activity will find themselves locked up in federal prison for a long time.”

According to court documents and evidence, Orozco-Gomez led a cartel-connected group that produced and distributed methamphetamine and other drugs across the region. He identified himself as a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which the United States designated in early 2025 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Orozco-Gomez ran and supervised a liquid conversion lab in his Morrisville apartment and detached garage. There, he and his co-conspirators converted liquid methamphetamine smuggled from Mexico into crystal meth by drying it with hazardous chemicals such as acetone. Prosecutors proved that his manufacturing and distribution created a substantial risk of harm to human life because he engaged in these hazardous processes in a residential area. During the investigation, Orozco-Gomez bragged about using a college-educated chemist to help him with this hazardous process.

Federal and local law enforcement searched his home and seized several kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl. They also recovered four guns, ammunition, and over $50,000 of cash in the case.

During sentencing the Judge described his operation as a “pipeline” that funneled deadly chemicals from Mexico into the Eastern District of North Carolina. The Judge also noted, the “staggering amount” of drugs the group trafficked represented “tens of thousands of fatal doses.”

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly L. Sandling and Logan W. Liles prosecuted the case. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and various local law enforcement agencies investigated the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-38-M-RJ.