Southern Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Conspiracy

Rey Ramirez, a resident of Pharr, Texas, pled guilty in federal district court on March 22, 2016, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine and marijuana, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, James L. Porter, announced today. Ramirez surrendered into custody after the hearing and will be detained pending sentencing, which is scheduled for July 14, 2016, at 1:30 P.M. before the Honorable Nancy J. Rosenstengel. Ramirez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, up to life imprisonment, followed by a minimum of five years on supervised release, as well as a fine of up to $10,000,000 and a special assessment fee of $100.

Documents filed in court revealed that Ramirez agreed with others to distribute about 2,000 pounds of marijuana in Atlanta, Georgia, Akron, Ohio, and Imperial, Missouri, between March 2014 and July 2014, as well as 21 kilograms of cocaine in Imperial, Missouri in late June 2014. Some of these drugs were destined for distribution in this district.

Evidence in support of this prosecution 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. Agencies participating in this case include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Monica A. Stump.