Ramon S. Araiza-Vega, Cocaine Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2022

In a major blow to the cocaine trade, a Mexican citizen living in Tucson, AZ, has pleaded guilty to being part of a cross-country cocaine trafficking ring that distributed kilograms of the highly addictive substance throughout the United States.

Ramon S. Araiza-Vega, 29, formerly of Tucson, AZ, pleaded guilty to a violation of the federal narcotics laws in federal court in Pittsburgh, PA, on October 10, 2022, before United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy.

The cocaine trafficking organization, which Araiza-Vega was a part of, sourced the highly addictive substance from Mexico and distributed it in California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and other states, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The investigation into the organization, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Postal Service - Office of Inspector General, seized over 100 kilograms of cocaine during a two-year investigation.

Araiza-Vega admitted to transporting kilograms of cocaine from Arizona to Los Angeles, CA, which were intended for redistribution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. On May 5, 2020, federal agents surveilled Araiza-Vega and codefendant Manuel Silvestre in Los Angeles, CA, believing they were going to conduct a drug transaction, and a subsequent search led to the seizure of 26 kilograms of cocaine and approximately $185,000 in U.S. currency.

Araiza-Vega's guilty plea also admitted that the quantity of cocaine attributable to him, through his conduct and through the conduct of co-conspirators that was reasonably foreseeable to him, was at least 15 kilograms but less than 50 kilograms.

With his guilty plea, Araiza-Vega faces a sentence of not less than 10 years and not more than life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000,000, or both. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines will determine the actual sentence imposed based on the seriousness of the offense and Araiza-Vega's prior criminal history, if any.

Assistant United States Attorney Jerome A. Moschetta is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (in Pittsburgh, PA) and the U.S. Postal Service - Office of Inspector General led the multi-agency investigation that included members of the DEA (in Los Angeles, CA; in Tucson, AZ; in New York, NY; in Nashville, TN; at the Special Operations Division; and in Mexico); the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police; the Allegheny County Police Department; the New Castle Police Department; the Monessen Police Department; and the Pennsylvania State Police.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/mexican-citizen-pleads-guilty-being-part-cross-country-cocaine-trafficking-ring