Mexican national caught with over 9 kilograms of methamphetamine pleads guilty to federal drug crime following HSI, St. Charles Police Department investigation

ST. LOUIS – A Mexican national, who was caught with more than nine kilograms of methamphetamine in St. Charles, pleaded guilty July 8 to a federal drug crime following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and St. Charles Police Department investigation.

Juan Manuel Barajas-Magana, 35, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

During a Feb. 19, 2020, traffic stop, St. Charles police found 26 packages containing a total of 9.269 kilograms of methamphetamine, a stolen 9mm handgun and $5,046 in cash hidden in a subwoofer in a pickup truck driven by Barajas-Magana.

Barajas-Magana’s passenger and traveling companion, Susana Esmeralda Salazar-Amaya, pleaded guilty to the same charge in August and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15. She admitted to being in the country illegally, giving a false name to police and having an active federal warrant from Indiana at the time of her arrest.

Barajas-Magana, who overstayed his visa, faces 10 years to life in prison when sentenced Oct. 4.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 86 overseas locations in 55 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.