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Oscar Benitez, 44, Convicted of Cocaine Trafficking in Texas
A federal jury in Houston has convicted 44-year-old Oscar Benitez of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to launder money, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
The jury heard that the investigation began in early 2011, when agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, seized approximately four kilograms of cocaine from a vehicle that had been driven there from the Houston area.
The investigation revealed the vehicle had recently been sold by Bensol Auto Sales in Arcola, Texas – a used car dealership that Benitez owned. Houston agents then realized one of their confidential sources (CS) had already been speaking to Benitez about trying to buy large amounts of cocaine from him and his drug supplier.
Benitez subsequently had told the individual that he moved large amounts of cocaine (25-100 kilograms at a time) and that he had a very well-connected drug supplier who could make such large deals happen.
On June 16, 2011, a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a Ford F-150 pickup truck in Monroe for a traffic violation. Reuben Orozco-Garcia was driving with Juan Gonzalez-Bejar as a passenger. The truck contained 81 kilograms of cocaine.
The truck’s occupants, Orozco-Garcia and Gonzalez-Bejar, previously pleaded guilty. Testimony at trial revealed that Orozco-Garcia had made a deposit of $9,000 into a bank account belonging to Bensol Auto Sales and Benitez the day of the cocaine seizure.
The jury also heard that Benitez was using this Bensol Auto Sales account to launder the drug trafficking proceeds and that he supplied vehicles from Bensol to his drug supplier to transport drugs to other parts of the United States.
Oscar Benitez faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison as well as a possible $10 million fine when he is sentenced on February 21, 2017.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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