Colombian Drug Trafficker Sentenced In Federal Court

MOBILE, Ala. –  Hubert Rivas-Granados, 47, a former resident of Houston, Texas, and a citizen of Colombia illegally in the United States, was sentenced today in federal court for his participation in an interstate organization involved in the distribution of numerous kilograms of cocaine.  Rivas-Granados was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in July of 2013.  Judge Callie V. S. Granade imposed a sentence of 324 months imprisonment, after which she ordered that Rivas-Granados would be delivered to the appropriate immigration official for consideration of deportation.  If for some reason Rivas-Granados is not deported, the judge ordered that he would serve a four-year term of supervised release, which will include drug abuse testing and treatment.  The judge also ordered that Rivas-Granados pay the mandatory special assessment of $100.

Evidence adduced during the sentencing hearing established that Rivas-Granados occupied a leadership role in the conspiracy, which operated between Texas and Mobile from 2009 through 2011, to distribute more than 100 kilograms of cocaine here. The drug operation was disrupted with a series of arrests resulting from the investigation and federal indictments that have sent several members of the operation to federal prison for lengthy sentences.

The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney=s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.