Francisco Ramirez-Vasquez, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Nebraska 2023

Lincoln, NE – A Guatemalan man has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for his role in a major methamphetamine trafficking operation in Nebraska.

Francisco Ramirez-Vasquez, 22, was sentenced on June 25, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for one count of possession of meth with the intent to distribute. Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon handed down the sentence, which includes a total of 87 months’ imprisonment for both counts.

There is no parole in the federal system, so Ramirez-Vasquez will spend the full 87 months behind bars. After his release from prison, he will begin a 2-year term of supervised release.

The investigation began on March 15, 2023, when the United States Postal Service (USPS) discovered a suspicious package in the mail. A drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the package, and inside, investigators found three bundles of suspected meth that weighed approximately seven pounds.

Further investigation led to the execution of a search warrant for the residence in Hastings, where investigators located the package used during a controlled delivery, a second USPS box containing meth, additional meth in other locations in the residence, cocaine, a suspected drug ledger, $8,026 in U.S. currency, a digital scale, unused sandwich baggies consistent with packaging narcotics, and drug paraphernalia.

The State Patrol Crime Lab confirmed the substance seized in the USPS boxes was meth, with a total weight over 2,665 grams. A sample weighing 443 grams was tested for purity, and the lab confirmed that the sample contained at least 420 grams of meth actual.

The case was investigated by the Tri-City Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), a task force with law enforcement personnel from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Grand Island Police Department, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Hastings Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Kearney Police Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol.

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