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- Llobani Figueroa, who prosecutors call a drug trafficking "ringleader" from Magna, was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
- Figueroa pleaded guilty to operating a criminal enterprise and drug distribution in Utah.
- Federal prosecutors say he managed and recruited other participants to distribute controlled substances on his behalf.
SALT LAKE CITY — A drug trafficking "ringleader" and former federal fugitive from Magna was sentenced last month to 22 years in federal prison.
Llobani Federico Figueroa, aka "Pablo," 33, of Magna, is a "career offender" who has been previously convicted of felony level drug-related crimes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah said. Figueroa was a federal fugitive for three years before being arrested in 2023 for his involvement in a car crash that killed a 17-year-old Salt Lake boy.
Figueroa pleaded guilty in December to operating a criminal enterprise in Utah and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. In addition to his imprisonment, a U.S. District Court judge ordered him to forfeit $300,961, two vehicles and three guns, plus firearm accessories and ammunition. After he serves his prison term, he will be subject to 10 years of supervised release.
Figueroa has been engaged in a more than decade-long series of drug trafficking offenses, starting at age 18, according to court documents. From December 2022 to August 2023, Figueroa was engaged in "continuous" drug trafficking as the primary conduit among multiple Californian and Mexico-based supply sources and Utah-based distributors, federal prosecutors say.
Figueroa obtained various controlled substances, including methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine and transported them to Utah. He also maintained multiple locations in the state where he stored and sold the drugs.
Figueroa was charged in 2023 for drug- and firearm-related offenses, along with 28 other defendants who were part of his drug enterprise. He is a known member of the nationwide criminal organization "LaRaza," the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah said.
"Llobani further admitted his role in the drug trafficking organization was as a manager or supervisor and he recruited other participants and organized couriers to distribute controlled substances on his behalf. He then delegated other responsibilities to his coconspirators and admitted his organization could not have functioned without the involvement and assistance of these others," the federal agency said.
Figueroa is involved in three other pending criminal cases in the state of Utah for drug possession, drug distribution and manslaughter.
"As a decades-long drug-trafficker, Mr. Figueroa has been a threat and danger to the people of our state," said Acting U.S. Attorney for Utah Felice John Viti. "His well-deserved decades-long sentence will serve as a reminder that those who peddle poison into our communities in violation of federal law for their own financial gain will face justice and forfeit their ill-gotten gains."
