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Press Release

Heroin Trafficker for Mexican Drug Cartel Sentenced in Brooklyn Federal Court to 68 Months’ Imprisonment

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York
Defendant Conspired to Transport Heroin from Ohio to Brooklyn

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Francisco Canizales-Ramirez, who transported heroin for a violent Mexican drug trafficking organization known as “H-2,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon to 68 months’ imprisonment.  In April 2018, Canizales-Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.  Upon completion of his sentence, the defendant will be deported to Mexico.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence.

“With today’s sentence, Canizales-Ramirez has been held responsible for his role as a smuggler for a large-scale Mexican drug trafficking organization that relies on criminals like the defendant to receive imported heroin and distribute it into our country,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This Office and our law enforcement partners are responding to the opioid epidemic by vigorously investigating and prosecuting all traffickers, large and small.”  Mr. Donoghue extended his grateful appreciation to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio; Las Vegas District Office, Columbus District Office and New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Ohio State Highway Patrol; and a number of Ohio police departments, specifically, the Columbus Division of Police, Narcotics Bureau, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Westerville Police Department and Upper Arlington Police Department, for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.

According to court filings and facts presented during court proceedings, the defendant agreed to receive and transport a kilogram of heroin on behalf of “H-2,” which is based in Nayarit and Sinaloa, Mexico.  The defendant subsequently received the heroin from a drug courier in Columbus, Ohio, and transported the drugs to Brooklyn for distribution.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alicia N. Washington, G. Karthik Srinivasan, Ryan C. Harris, Craig R. Heeren and Michael P. Robotti are in charge of the prosecution. 

The Defendant:

FRANCISCO CANIZALES-RAMIREZ
Age: 35
Columbus, Ohio

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-658 (CBA)

Contact

John Marzulli
Tyler Daniels
United States Attorney’s Office
(718) 254-6323

Updated August 17, 2018

Topic
Drug Trafficking