Tracy Gulzow, 56, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was sentenced to 17 and a half years in federal prison on March 24 for possessing over 500 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska.
Gulzow was identified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a distributor for a Mexican-based methamphetamine drug trafficking organization (DTO), according to the office.
According to the Justice Department, DTOs are still a persistent and evolving threat in the United States, raising serious concerns for federal, state, and local law enforcement.
Mexican and Asian traffickers have expanded their control over U.S. drug markets, while Colombian and Dominican groups continue to transport large amounts of narcotics into the country, though their direct influence is dwindling, the Justice Department explained.
According to the US attorney’s office, DEA agents first identified Gulzow as a DTO customer in March 2022, and by fall 2023, she had become a distributor.
Gulzow was stopped by the Omaha Police Department for a traffic violation on January 24, 2023, and officers discovered nine pounds of methamphetamine during the stop, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Gulzow admitted to having additional meth at her home and told law enforcement she had received more than 50 pounds of meth from the DTO since becoming a distributor, according to the US attorney’s office.
Authorities later searched her home and discovered two more pounds of methamphetamine, a firearm, and $19,563 from methamphetamine sales, according to the US attorney’s office.
