DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY
TO HIDING 150 POUNDS OF COCAINE IN HIS LOAD

TOPEKA, KAN. – A trucker from Arizona pleaded guilty Wednesday to having more than 150 pounds of cocaine concealed in the cargo he was hauling when he was stopped in March by the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Guadalupe Rios-Pinela, 46, Phoenix, Ariz., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Sam Crow.

"It was the defendant's poor fortune to run into a Kansas Highway Patrol officer who was certified as a Level II inspector by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and who was well trained in drug traffickers' tricks of the trade," said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren.

In his plea, Rios-Pinela admitted that he was driving a truck and flatbed trailer when a highway patrol trooper stopped him near mile marker 127 on I-35 in Lyon County, Kan.

During a conversation with the driver, the trooper noted the following warning signs of illegal activity:

-- A high DOT number on the truck, indicating the company was recently created.
-- The truck was based in, Arizona, a state classified as a major source of illegal drugs.
-- The load was bound for Chicago, another area in which drug activity is classified as high.
-- The bill for the trucker's cargo was handwritten and it described the cargo in vague terms.
-- The trucker's log book showed several days of down time prior to this load.
-- Paperwork indicated the company owned only one truck and the driver was both owner and operator.
-- The driver was accompanied by a passenger who he said was riding along to assist the driver, although there was no obvious need for such help and the driver said he was not paying the passenger.
-- The driver knew only the passenger's first name.

The trooper completed a safety inspection. Then he asked for permission to search the truck. The driver told the trooper to go ahead. Noticing tarps and milk a crate under the air dam, the trooper climbed up on the roof of the tractor and peered behind the tarps, where he saw a trash bag. On further inspection, he found three large duffle bags, wrapped in garbage bags, which contained bundles of illegal drugs wrapped in bright-green florescent tape. Lab tests later determined that the bundles contained 69.02 kilograms of 85 percent pure cocaine.

Rios-Pinela faces a maximum penalty of not less than 10 years and a fine up to $4 million. Sentencing is set for March 13, 2007. His co-defendant, Diego Amaro-Tena, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He is awaiting sentencing.

Melgren commended the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hough for their work on the case.

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