Two Mexican nationals have been sentenced in federal court after a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper found more than 88 pounds of methamphetamine and a firearm during a car stop on Interstate 70 in Saline County.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle on eastbound I-70 in Saline County on April 5, 2021. The occupants of the vehicle were 39-year-old Gustavo Renteria-Rojas and his 34-year-old brother Jose Alfredo Renteria-Rojas. The trooper could smell the odor of burnt and raw marijuana, as well as see a bag of marijuana in plain view.

The trooper searched the vehicle and found four white cardboard boxes in the trunk that contained 36 packages with a total of 88.7 pounds of methamphetamine. The trooper also found a methamphetamine smoking pipe concealed within a roll of toilet paper on the driver’s seat where Gustavo Renteria-Rojas had been sitting. The trooper also searched Jose Alfredo Renteria-Rojas, and found a loaded handgun and an extra magazine.

Jose Alfredo Renteria-Rojas was sentenced on Monday, April 3, to 11 years and six months in federal prison without parole.

Gustavo Renteria-Rojas was sentenced on Thursday, April 6, to 11 years and six months in federal prison without parole.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.