California-based supplier pleads guilty to role in methamphetamine trafficking organization in West Virginia

BLUEFIELD, WV (WVNS) — A California man pleaded guilty to a role in a methamphetamine trafficking organization that operated in West Virginia.

41-year-old Alejandro Gallegos, also known as “Alex,” “Rooster,” “G” and “Primo,” of Hacienda Heights, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.

According to statements made in court, from around February 2021 to about March 2023, Gallegos and other people planned to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine in southern West Virginia. Gallegos revealed that he played a major supplier role in a drug trafficking organization that ran in the Charleston area of Kanawha County.

Gallegos told co-defendant 30-year-old Ildiberto Gonzalez Jr., of San Bernadino, California, to deliver around 196 pounds of methamphetamine and four kilograms of cocaine from California to Bluefield, West Virginia, in his tractor trailer on March 18, 2023.

The shipment was organized by Gallegos with another co-conspirator located in West Virginia in exchange for around $400,000. The arrangement included the co-conspirator in West Virginia meeting Gonzalez on March 22, 2023 in a parking lot in Bluefield, West Virginia. Once at the parking lot, Gonzalez gave the co-conspirator the controlled substances in exchange for a box that Gonzalez thought held the money.

Gallegos’ sentencing is scheduled for October 10, 2024, and he faces at least 10 years to life in prison, a minimum of five years of parole, and a $10 million fine.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine on September 12, 2023 and awaits his sentencing.

Gallegos and Gonzalez are two out of 32 people who were charged due to Operation Smoke and Mirrors, which is a large drug trafficking investigation that resulted in the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. They are also two out of 29 people who pleaded guilty, and indictments against other defendants involved in Operation Smoke and Mirrors are pending.

Due to Operation Smoke and Mirrors, more than 400 pounds of methamphetamine, 40 pounds of cocaine, three pounds of fentanyl, 19 guns, and $935,000 in cash were seized by members of law enforcement.

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