Suburban Chicago men convicted in Mexico-to-Chicago drug pipeline

CHICAGO - Two suburban men were convicted on conspiracy charges for their involvement in a 2019 drug pipeline that stretched from Mexico to Chicago.

Sheldon Morales, 40, and Eduardo Santana, 45, worked with a supplier in Mexico and two inmates in a Texas prison to traffic methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico to Evanston and Morton Grove, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Northern District of Illinois.

Law enforcement used wiretapped cellphones and surveillance to lead to their arrests as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation.

They were convicted by a jury Sunday after a week-long trial in the U.S. District Court in Chicago. 

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Morales, of Morton Grove, was also convicted on a charge of possession of meth and fentanyl. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

Santana, of Skokie, faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.