A Brookhaven man will spend 15 years in federal prison for his role in a 700-pound methamphetamine shipment hidden inside cucumber boxes.
Andres Jasso, Jr., 39, was sentenced July 17 to 15 years followed by 10 years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Fox 5 Atlanta first reported the sentencing Aug. 26.
Co-defendant Rufino Pineda-Perez, 61, also received the same 15-year sentence.
The arrest
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were watching a tractor-trailer parked outside a Gainesville warehouse on June 30, 2025, suspecting it contained a large drug shipment. Agents spotted Jasso and Pineda-Perez sitting in a sedan next to the truck and arrested them.
Inside the trailer, investigators found 20 pallets of cucumber boxes. The boxes contained thousands of individually wrapped packages of methamphetamine totaling more than 700 pounds.
Authorities alleged co-conspirators had tasked the two men with unloading the crates and separating the drugs from the produce.
Guilty pleas and sentencing
Both men pleaded guilty March 11 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Pineda-Perez, a Mexican citizen with no legal status in the United States, also pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a previously removed alien. Court records show he is a twice-convicted, twice-deported felon.
He was first deported in 2001 after an Arizona conviction for transporting marijuana. He re-entered the country illegally and was caught in March 2014 transporting nearly a kilogram of cocaine near Atlanta.
A judge sentenced him in August 2015 to six and a half years in prison for that offense. He was deported a second time after serving that sentence before returning to participate in the Gainesville operation.
What remains unknown
Federal officials have not identified the co-conspirators who allegedly directed Jasso and Pineda-Perez to unload the truck. No further court dates or investigative milestones have been announced.
Residents can report suspected drug activity to the DEA Atlanta Division at 404-893-7000.
