CEDAR RAPIDS — A Marshalltown woman who was involved in the distribution of nearly five kilograms of methamphetamine was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Friday.

Eva Ordaz Hernandez, age 45, received the sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on Aug. 2, 2021.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that in 2018, law enforcement officials began investigating a large-scale drug trafficking organization operating between Mexico and Iowa. They learned that Ordaz Hernandez was distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and collecting money on behalf of the organization.

On one occasion, Ordaz Hernandez collected $20,000 in currency for an outstanding drug debt owed to the organization. This transaction occurred at her residence in front of her minor granddaughter. On another occasion, Ordaz Hernandez’s minor son collected $5,000 in drug debt owed to Ordaz Hernandez and other members of the group.

At a hearing in Cedar Rapids, United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Ordaz Hernandez to 120 months of imprisonment, and she must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Corkery and Dillan Edwards prosecuted the case, which was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Mid-Iowa Task Force (Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Marshalltown Police Department), Iowa National Guard and Counter Drug Program, Tri-County Task Force (Cedar Falls Police Department, Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.