An Ennis resident has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison for her role in cocaine trafficking, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs of the Eastern District of Texas.
Isabel Salas, age 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. On March 4, 2026, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III handed down a sentence of 120 months in federal prison.
Court records indicate that the investigation began in July 2022 after federal agents arrested a suspect in Chicago who was found with eight kilograms of heroin. The investigation led authorities to Salas, and on November 30, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at her home in Ennis. The search resulted in the seizure of more than 600 grams of cocaine, eight firearms, and over $28,000 in cash.
The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159. According to the press release: “The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Ellis County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Wynne prosecuted it.
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