Cristian Andre Vazquez Velez, Cocaine Trafficking, Wisconsin 2022

Cristian Andre Vazquez Velez, 23, of Independence, Wisconsin, has been sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy in Trempealeau County.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Vazquez pleaded guilty on August 30, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

As part of the conspiracy, Vazquez and his co-conspirators received cocaine shipments from Puerto Rico, which were hidden inside radios, printers, or bedsheets and mailed through the U.S. Postal Service.

On May 5, 2021, a special agent from the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General obtained a search warrant for a parcel sent from Puerto Rico to a residence in Winona, Minnesota, which was associated with the group. Inside the parcel, investigators found 557 grams of cocaine hidden inside a large Bluetooth speaker.

Vazquez was one of several individuals arrested in connection with the cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Mark Castro, Karlett Salazar, and Michael Carmenatty Justiniano were also charged and sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.

Carmenatty, 41, of Galesville, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Castro was sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

Salazar was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, the Arcadia Police Department, and the Independence Police Department.

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