MIDLAND, TEXAS (BNO NEWS) – The singer of an Odessa, Texas nortena band was sentenced on Thursday to over 19 years in prison for two separate drug cases, prosecutors said.

Jose Alfredo Porras Muñiz, 27, is the lead vocalist for Los Diamantes de Ojinaga, a nortena band. He was convicted for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in two separate drug smuggling cases.

In the first case, Porras arranged the smuggling of approximately 77 pounds of marijuana from Mexico into the United States through the Port of Entry in Presidio, Texas on July 16, 2009.

In the second case, Porras and others smuggled over 3,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States. On February 17, federal law enforcement seized the marijuana on Godbold Ranch Road in Presidio County and subsequently arrested the nortena music singer.

On Thursday morning, Porras was sentenced to 235 months, over 19 years, in prison. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.

(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)