A jury found Cantu guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, conspiracy to launder money and providing false statements on a bank loan.
At trial, witnesses testified that Cantu led a group that trafficked drugs from the Rio Grande Valley to locations throughout the country, including Corpus Christi, Houston and Louisiana. Cantu also helped arrange distribution for other drug trafficking rings, which used South Texas ranches to avoid federal checkpoints, prosecutors said.
More than a dozen people charged along with Cantu pleaded guilty to charges in the case, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
