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Two more Delhi men convicted in meth scheme
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Two Delhi men arrested as part of a federal investigation into methamphetamine trafficking to Hawaii are now prison bound.

Miguel Leontapia, 33, and Gilberto Chavez Leon, 29, pleaded guilty Monday to conduct relating to a scheme to send methamphetamine to Hawaii, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Leontapia pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and Leon pled guilty to conspiracy to bulk smuggle cash, DOJ spokesperson Lauren Horwood said.

Leontapia and his co-defendants obtained approximately three pounds of methamphetamine in August 2012 that they attempted to ship to Hawaii. They were in the process of shipping it to Hawaii when they were apprehended by law enforcement, according to the court records.

Leon admitted that in August 2012, he and a coconspirator traveled from Stanislaus County to Hawaii where they obtained approximately $67,000 cash. Leon and the other person then attempted to take that cash, concealed on their persons and in their luggage, onto a flight to Oakland from Honolulu.

The same investigation also netted the arrest of Eduardo Zazueta Garcia, 28, of Delhi, who pleaded guilty last week in federal court to possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Leontapia and Leon are scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on March 2, 2015. Leontapia faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Leon faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Stanislaus Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Modesto Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rooney is prosecuting the case.