Missouri resident from Mexico sentenced to nearly 21 years for drug conspiracy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Mexican man living in western Missouri was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 21 years in federal prison for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that smuggled methamphetamine from Mexico to the Kansas City area.
This sentence resulted from an investigation titled Operation Broken Arrow by the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with participation from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Jackson County (Missouri) Drug Task Force, the Kansas City and Independence (Missouri) police departments, and the Missouri Department of Revenue.
"With these sentences, HSI has halted a major narcotics smuggling organization that represented a significant threat to public health and safety," said James Gibbons, acting special agent in charge of HSI Chicago, which oversees Kansas City. "HSI will continue to work with federal, state and local law enforcement to ensure criminals like these cannot gain a permanent foothold in our communities.”
Marcelino Ruiz-Reyes, 37, a citizen of Mexico living in Independence, Missouri, was sentenced to 20 years and eight months in federal prison without parole on various charges, including: participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and participating in a money-laundering conspiracy. Ruiz-Reyes previously pleaded guilty to these charges Aug. 13, 2014.
Ruiz-Reyes is among nine co-defendants charged in a May 2, 2013 federal indictment. Ruiz-Reyes admitted that he participated in the drug-trafficking and money-laundering conspiracies from Jan. 1 to Dec. 4, 2012.
Ruiz-Reyes ordered methamphetamine from a co-conspirator in Sinaloa, Mexico. The drugs were delivered via a semi-tractor trailer driven by co-defendant Gerardo Millan-Sanchez, 56, of San Jose, California. Ruiz-Reyes then provided Millan-Sanchez with bulk cash to be paid to his Mexican contact upon his return. Ruiz-Reyes then used other co-conspirators to distribute the methamphetamine to numerous customers within the Kansas City metro and surrounding areas. Millan-Sanchez has also pleaded guilty to similar charges and awaits sentencing.
Ruiz-Reyes admitted that he arranged for co-conspirators to bury 3.5 kilograms (7.7 lbs.) of methamphetamine on the grounds of his residence. A couple of weeks later, upon learning the methamphetamine had been stolen, he and co-defendant Jaime Reyes-Orosco, aka “Jaimito,” 31, of Kansas City, Missouri, aiding and abetting each other, possessed a Tanfoglio Witness 9mm handgun with the intent to locate and intimidate an unknown subject in retaliation for the theft of the methamphetamine. Reyes-Orosco has also pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
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