July 22, 2010

TEXAN ARRESTED WITH 436,00 ECSTASY PILLS SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

WICHITA, KAN. – A Texas man arrested in Kansas with 436,000 Ecstasy pills has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.

Edgar E. Juarez, 21, San Antonio, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 200 pounds of Ecstasy. In his plea, Juarez admitted he was arrested Dec. 4, 2009, while he was carrying more than 436,000 pills of Ecstasy (MDMA) in the trunk of his car. A Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper approached Juarez at a fuel stop on Highway I-70 in Ellis County, Kan. When the trooper told Juarez he was going to call for a drug dog, Juarez fled on foot, entering the station’s building on one side and exiting on the other. He was arrested later in a laundry room of a nearby hotel.

Investigators found 44 bags of Ecstasy in the trunk of the Cadillac Juarez was driving. The estimated street value of the drugs was more than $7 million.

Welch commended the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Sublet for their work on the case.