Abraham Arturo Rodríguez, Cocaine Trafficking, South Carolina 2017

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — Two Texas men, Abraham Arturo Rodríguez and Ruben Rodríguez, have been convicted of conspiring to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine after a 3-day jury trial in Florence.

According to the evidence presented at trial, the two men came from the southwest border and rented a room at an upscale beachfront resort in North Myrtle Beach to be their base of operations.

From their high-rise hotel room, the Rodríguezes coordinated the delivery of more than 50 kilograms of cocaine—drugs valued at more than $1,500,000—from January through November 2017.

The men smuggled most of the cocaine to so-called “stash houses” located in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area using clandestine work trucks. To avoid detection by law enforcement, the cocaine was stored in average-looking residences in middle-class neighborhoods where families lived and resided.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds were then carried back to Myrtle Beach by the men, who shipped the ill-gotten gains back to their associates at the Mexican border via overnight mail.

Abraham Rodríguez faces 20 years to life imprisonment based on his role in the offense and a prior drug conviction. Ruben Rodríguez faces 10 years to life imprisonment.

The South Carolina case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration assisted by officers from the North Myrtle Beach Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Andrew Moorman, Deputy Chief of Narcotics, and Everett McMillian, both of whom are prosecutors assigned to the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force of the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of South Carolina.

This case is part of a concentrated joint effort between local and federal authorities to disrupt and dismantle the supply chains of cocaine, opioids, and other drugs into the Myrtle Beach area.