Four Marshalltown residents are among the eight people who were sentenced to prison this week for their roles in distributing hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Norther District of Iowa, five men and three women received lengthy federal prison terms for their involvement in a drug trafficking organization that originated in Marshalltown.

According to the press release, court proceedings showed that in the spring of 2013, Mario Murillo Mora of Marshalltown began building a organization responsible for distributing multiple pounds of ice methamphetamine — a highly pure, crystalized form of methamphetamine — throughout northern Iowa.

Various members of the organization distributed at least 250 pounds of ice methamphetamine. Murillo Mora recruited those individuals, including some of the people sentenced this week, to assist with transporting, storing and distributing ice methamphetamine, as well as collecting money and wiring drug proceeds back to the sources of the ice methamphetamine.

Other individuals obtained ice methamphetamine from Murillo Mora in pound to multiple pound quantities for redistribution to a network of retail level customers. The organization brought the methamphetamine to Marshalltown from Mexico and California concealed in vehicles. Once in Marshalltown, the methamphetamine was broken down and repackaged for further distribution.

Among those sentenced after each pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine were the following Marshalltown residents:

• Scott Mathews, 52, (not pictured) received a 70-month term of imprisonment;

• Rogelio Avalos-Sanchez, 23, received a 59-month term of imprisonment;

• Jennifer Mares-Flores, 21, received a 78-month term of imprisonment; and

• Alvaro Hernandez, 31, received a 113-month term of imprisonment.

Others sentenced on the same charge this week included:

• Donita Urban, 47, Evansdale, received a 98-month term of imprisonment;

• Brian Swartz, 49, Waterloo, received a 132-month term of imprisonment;

• Miguel Mendoza, 26, Hampton, received a 78-month term of imprisonment; and

• Frances Gasca, 26, from Lompoc, Calif., received a 103-month term of imprisonment

All eight must each serve a three- to five-year term of supervised release after completion of their prison terms. There is no parole in the federal system.

Back in August, Murillo Mora, 41, was sentenced to 262 months for conspiracy and 240 months for money laundering (concurrent sentences).

This week’s prison sentencings have been the culmination of a great deal of hard work and law enforcement tenacity since the arrests were first made in 2015, said Det./Sgt. Jim Gibson with the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.

“A lot of these individuals that have been sentenced are not just your average gram dealers,” he said. “If you’re looking at the hierarchy, these are your higher level dealers. It’s good to see the type of sentencings they received.”

Gibson noted that Marshalltown, mainly because of its location in the state, has been a hub of narcotics activity for some time, but that teamwork between the drug task force, as well as local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, has put a dent into that drug activity.

“In this case, it’s a prime example of networking and sharing information with other agencies …” he said.

Along with the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force which includes the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, the Marshalltown Police Department, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Falls Police Department, Eldora Police Department and the Dysart Police Department, the other agencies involved included the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Rapids Police Department; Marion Police Department; Iowa City Police Department; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Tri-County Drug Task Force which includes the Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Falls Police Department, LaPorte City Police Department, Hudson Police Department, Evansdale Police Department, University of Northern Iowa Police Department, Waverly Police Department and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.