WICHITA, KAN. – A load of methamphetamine that investigators followed from Amarillo, Texas, to Kansas is sending a Guatemalan man to federal prison, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Jose Adrian Cua-Garcia, 30, was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The investigation began when law enforcement officers stopped an SUV near Amarillo, Texas, and found more than 12 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a spare tire. Investigators arranged for part of the load to be delivered while they kept it under surveillance.

Co-defendant Jorge Vazquez-Rodriguez, 30, Kansas City, Kan., met the load in a hotel parking lot near I-70 and 78th Street. He took the drugs to a house in Kansas City, Kan., where he met Cua-Garcia. Later, Cua-Garcia left the house carrying the tire in the back of his truck. Investigators pulled him over after a chase and arrested him.

Vazquez-Rodriguez pleaded guilty and sentencing is set for June 4.