Foreign National Sentenced On Convictions Related To Trafficking In Cocaine And Methamphetamine

A citizen of Mexico, who was named, along with nine others in an indictment returned in August 2012, was sentenced on May 10, 2013, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Gonzalo Nunez-Camacho, 38, a citizen of Mexico who most recently resided in West Valley City, Utah, had previously entered pleas of guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine; Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine; and Interstate Travel in Support of Racketeering on January 23, 2013. Nunez-Camacho was sentenced to 168 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. Nunez-Camacho was also ordered to pay a $300 special assessment and to forfeit to the United States the amount of $532,000, in addition to the $35,738 in United States currency which was seized from him by law enforcement on June 23, 2012. In addition, the Court issued a Judicial Order of Removal, which will require that he be deported from the United States following the service of his sentence.

Five of the ten conspirators charged in the indictment have entered pleas of guilty. Three are awaiting trial, and two remain fugitives. An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, those defendants who have not yet been convicted are presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Evidence in support of the indictment was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Participating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), U.S. Marshal Service, the Granite City Police Department, Fairview Heights Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County (Missouri) Police Department, the St. Charles County (Missouri) Sheriff's Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol. This case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Randy G. Massey for prosecution.