A California man has been sentenced to 126 months in federal prison for his involvement in a multi-state drugs trafficking organization that transported methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana between California and Western New York.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said that La D. Huynh, 43, of Chula Vista, California, was sentenced to 126 months (10 years and 6 months) in federal prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr., following a previous guilty plea to narcotics conspiracy.
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According to Assistant US Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, Huynh was a California-based narcotics supplier who provided substantial amounts of methamphetamine, heroin/fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana to co-conspirators, including Jamestown-based trafficker Jun Martinez.
According to federal authorities, the scheme began to disintegrate in 2019 when Huynh and Martinez’s conversations were momentarily suspended due to a payment disagreement over a methamphetamine shipment. However, the two resumed their drug trafficking activities in 2020, with Huynh allegedly transporting drugs from San Diego, California, to co-conspirators in the Eastern United States.
Martinez came to California in September 2020 to meet with Huynh and his co-conspirator Kevin Hughes. Martinez received substantial amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl at the meeting. Martinez and Hughes were later caught bringing cocaine back to Western New York.
On September 15, 2020, an Illinois State Police officer pulled Martinez and Hughes over while they were returning home. A search of the car turned up roughly 6,359 grams of methamphetamine, 3,157 grams of fentanyl, 2,241 grams of cocaine, and marijuana products. Both people were arrested and charged under Illinois state law.
Subsequent enforcement actions broadened the inquiry. On October 16, 2020, officials executed a search warrant at Martinez’s home on Wescott Street, recovering 438 grams of methamphetamine and nearly $62,000 in cash.
On July 9, 2021, Huynh was pulled over by California police. Narcotics were located in the vehicle’s trunk, and a subsequent search order yielded the recovery of two cardboard boxes carrying roughly 101 kilograms of cocaine.
Co-defendants in the case have also faced prosecution. Martinez was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing, while Hughes has already been convicted and sentenced.
Officials said the case was part of Operation Take Back America, a federal campaign to destroy transnational criminal organizations and large drug trafficking networks. The program brings together resources from the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
The Jamestown Police Department under Chief Scott Forster, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration under Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam of the New York Field Division, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff James Quattrone collaborated on the investigation.
