ST. CLOUD -- Another one of the leaders of a large drug ring that brought methamphetamine to Minnesota from other states has pleaded guilty.

Thirty-nine-year-old Hernando Nambo-Salas pleaded guilty Thursday to Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances Across State Borders into Minnesota. Another co-defendant in the case, 35-year-old Francisco Nambo-Chacon pleaded guilty to the same charge last fall.

The Stearns County Attorney's Office says as a result of the plea agreement, other similar charges will be dismissed and Nambo-Salas will be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Nambo-Chacon has had his sentencing date reset to February 15th. The Stearns County Attorney's Office will be arguing for a sentence of approximately 8-and-a-half years for Nambo-Chacon. Both men could be deported back to Mexico after serving their sentences.

The charges stemmed from a three-year investigation into an ongoing conspiracy to sell large amounts of methamphetamine in central Minnesota.

Investigators say they seized approximately 44 pounds of methamphetamine from drug dealers who delivered and sold "multiple pounds of methamphetamine on a routine and repeated basis."

Both Nambo-Salas and Nambo-Chacon were considered to be among the ringleaders of the drug distribution network which originated in Mexico and brought meth from states like California, Colorado, Texas and Washington.

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