March 25, 2024 - RENO – The final defendant involved in a large methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy was sentenced last Monday by United States Chief District Judge Miranda M. Du to 145 months in prison for his role in a large methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, in 2014, Nassrollah Behmard fled to Mexico to avoid being arrested for his involvement in a Washoe County drug trafficking case. In March 2022, the FBI learned that Behmard, who was still in Mexico, was conspiring with co-conspirators located in Reno and Los Angeles to distribute multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine in the Reno area. From March 2022 to June 2022, Behmard and his co-conspirators were responsible for distributing over 140 pounds of methamphetamine.

On June 6, 2022, Behmard arranged with co-conspirator Ramon Guadalupe Sanchez Maldonado to deliver 100 pounds of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Reno. Law enforcement intercepted the methamphetamine and traced it back to a clandestine lab located in the Los Angeles area. Law enforcement dismantled the lab and seized approximately 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine.

In June 2022, a federal grand jury in Reno charged Behmard, also known as “Benny” and “Michael Holt,” and his co-conspirators Sanchez Maldonado, Melissa Ann Longo, Owen Eugene Dick, and Jesus Sanchez Vargas with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and related offenses including money laundering. Maldonado was sentenced to 120 months in prison, Longo was sentenced to 57 months in prison, and Dick was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The FBI Northern Nevada Safe Streets Task Force, comprised of the FBI, Reno Police Department, Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Gaming and Control Board, Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with assistance by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, the San Bernardino Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Andolyn Johnson prosecuted the case.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

If you have information of potential drug trafficking, call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit an anonymous tip online at TIPS.FBI.GOV.

Source: DOJ Release