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Press Release

Defendant in Drug Case Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Federal Prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Tennessee

Memphis, TN – Jose Anastacio Osorio Diaz, a/k/a Kenneth Rodriguez, 48, from Mexico, has been sentenced to 210 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess illegal narcotics with intent to distribute. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today.

According to the information presented in court, in 2018 the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began investigating the drug trafficking activities of Diaz, who used couriers to transport narcotics from Mexico into the Western District of Tennessee and elsewhere. One such courier was arrested in Laredo, Texas, on May 12, 2019, in possession of 3.98 kilograms of cocaine. A second courier, in possession of 976 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin and fentanyl, was arrested on July 1, 2019, in Braselton, Georgia.

On October 17, 2019, a federal grand jury returned a four-count superseding indictment against Jose Anastacio Osorio Diaz a/k/a Kenneth Rodriguez for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana with the intent to distribute.

The defendant pled guilty on May 16, 2019.

On February 14, 2023, United States District Judge Mark S. Norris sentenced Diaz to 210 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking organizations and organized criminal enterprises, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

This case was investigated by the DEA and the FBI.

United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Kimbril-Parks, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the case.

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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or cherri.green@usdoj.gov. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.

Updated February 14, 2023