Man sentenced to 24 years on marijuana charges

ST. LOUIS -- A suburban St. Louis man convicted of conspiring to traffic more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana was ordered Friday to spend more than 24 years in federal prison.

Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez-Lopez, 31, of Valley Park, Mo., was convicted July 10 of a felony that accused him of possessing marijuana with plans to deal it as part of a conspiracy he led in 2001 and last year.

As part of the investigation, authorities seized 1,100 pounds of marijuana from various sites, as well as more than $104,000 found hidden under the kitchen floor of Lopez's apartment.

Seven co-defendants from Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin have pleaded guilty to related charges and have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from less than two years to nearly six years.

The case was investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, St. Louis County police and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.