Press Release
Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Possessing with Intent to Distribute More than 332 Kilograms of Methamphetamine
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. – Hector Francisco Ramirez-Roman, 39, of San Luis, Rio Colorado, Mexico, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 108 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Ramirez-Roman also was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment. Ramirez-Roman pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine.
Ramirez-Roman was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on May 21, 2021, while crossing from Mexico into the United States driving his tractor-trailer loaded with cucumbers. Upon inspection, agents discovered that the passenger-side gas tank was filled with a combination of gasoline and liquified methamphetamine. More than 332 kilograms of methamphetamine -approximately 1.3 million individual doses - was removed from the gas tank.
United States Customs and Border Protection, assisted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-21-01384-JCH-EJM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-107_Ramirez-Roman
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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Contact
Public Affairs
Zach J. Stoebe
Telephone: (602) 514-7413
zachry.stoebe@usdoj.gov
Updated July 14, 2023
Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component