By Roberto Bustamante
A lengthy federal investigation into a methamphetamine trafficking ring linked to Mexico resulted in prison sentences for seven people connected to the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The case stems from a joint multi-agency investigation, launched in early 2020, that targeted a distribution operation that, according to authorities, transported liquid methamphetamine from Sinaloa, Mexico, to the Kansas City area.
The drug was then processed into crystal and sold locally.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas, the organization operated for more than three yearsa period during which law enforcement carried out a series of controlled purchases and tracked the group’s activity throughout the metropolitan area.
Authorities identified several members of the ring and discovered storage houses, including two locations that were used as active laboratories for the conversion of methamphetamine.
During the course of the investigation, Agents seized more than 70 kilograms of methamphetamineapproximately $35,000 in cash and three firearms.
The alleged leader of the operation, José Santos Macías Román46, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking conspiracy charge and was sentenced to 300 months in prison.
Juan Ramírez-González, 37, also received a 300-month sentence after pleading guilty to a similar charge.
Other defendants and their sentences are: Ezequiel Castro-Avilés (172 months); Manuel Alexis Soltero-Álvarez, (168 months); Manuel Arturo Faudoa (144 months); Gerardo Sierra-Martínez (97 months); and Marcos Antonio Valencia Jr. (72 months).
The investigation involved the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, and several regional task forces.
Keep reading:
– The US sets a hearing for drug trafficker Vicente Carrillo for July 28 while he seeks an agreement.
– An American woman who tried to cross an arsenal to Mexico in her vehicle is arrested in Arizona.
