Two Dallas residents, Christle Nadia Ruiz, 22, and Ricardo Antonio Flores, 29, have been sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison for their roles in a massive fentanyl distribution scheme.
Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Nancy E. Larson, announced that the duo was sentenced to 188 months’ confinement each by United States District Judge Karen Gren Scholer following their guilty plea in October 2024 to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl.
Court documents show that Flores and Ruiz were operating out of a Dallas, Texas, home on Ezekiel Avenue. In February and March 2023, they exchanged 1,000 fentanyl pills for $2,000 each time. Additionally, in April 2023, they received a shipment of approximately 50,000 fentanyl pills, planning to distribute them. During a search warrant execution, Ruiz attempted to flush several pills down the toilet.
According to agents’ testimony, Ruiz had also received about 10,000 fentanyl pills prior to the search and used a social media account with the phrases ‘Happy vibes . . . Thug Paradise’ to advertise the sale of fentanyl. The estimated street value of 60,000 pills was $600,000, with each pill valued at $10 in the Dallas area.
‘Tens of thousands of tragic overdose deaths occur each year due to fentanyl,’ Larson said. ‘The staggering amount of fentanyl in this case would have caused far-reaching devastation to our families and community, but for the efforts of our law enforcement partners.’
Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA in Dallas, emphasized that ‘those who profit from poisoning our communities with fentanyl will be held accountable.’ The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including the DEA, Rockwall County Sheriff’s Department, and others.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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