HAMMOND- Angel Antonio Penaloza-Rojo, 33 years old, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Gretchen S. Lund after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute Fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.
Penaloza-Rojo was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on August 11, 2024, Penaloza-Rojo brought approximately 3 kilograms of a substance containing Fentanyl to East Chicago, Indiana, where he was delivering it to members of law enforcement operating undercover. "Today’s sentence holds Angel-Antonio Penaloza-Rojo fully accountable for his malicious disregard for American laws and the lives of Hoosiers. The defendant, an undocumented immigrant, deliberately entered the United States illegally for the sole purpose of trafficking deadly fentanyl from Mexico directly into the Northern District of Indiana. Penaloza-Rojo and his co-conspirators operated a transnational drug pipeline, profiting from addiction and building wealth at the direct expense of our residents' lives and our community’s safety. Fentanyl is an absolute poison, and those who smuggle it across our borders to prey on our neighborhoods will find no safe haven here. This successful prosecution is a direct result of strong interagency partnerships. By combining the specialized resources of federal, state, and local law enforcement, we successfully dismantled this network from the street level up to its international roots. As in this case, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s North Central Laboratory, AUSA Michael J. Toth, and the United States Attorney’s Office remain relentless in our collaborative mission to protect the Northern District of Indiana," said United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Indiana, through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Fire Task Force, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations/Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s North Central Laboratory, and the Indiana State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Toth.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.