WAYCROSS, GA: Two drug traffickers, including an illegal alien with ties to a Mexican drug cartel, will spend more than a decade in federal prison after sentencing in a methamphetamine conspiracy.
Ricardo Santana-Hernandez, 32, a/k/a “Richard Hernandez,” a/k/a “Armond,” a/k/a “Armani,” of C’daltimairano, Guerroro, Mexico, was sentenced to 135 months in prison, and Ryon Bland, 32, of Douglas, Ga., was sentenced to 110 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood.
The investigation revealed that Santana-Hernandez was a source of supply for the drug trafficking organization that operated in Telfair County and elsewhere. Santana-Hernandez, who resided in the Atlanta area illegally, received kilograms of methamphetamine from the “La Familia” cartel in Mexico.
Agents arrested Santana-Hernadez when he came to a Dublin, Ga., restaurant to collect payment. In addition to Santana-Hernandez, Bland and Donna Bazemore, a/k/a “Dirty D,” 45, of McRae, Ga., nine other conspirators pled guilty after their indictment by a federal grand jury in October 2018 for drug trafficking and firearms-related offenses.
“These sentences demonstrate that our partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement are the key to targeting and dismantling organized crime,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “With hard time for their crimes, two drug traffickers will pay the penalty for spreading poison in our communities.”
“Narcotic traffickers have no regard for the well-being or safety of our Georgia communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Art Peralta. “Narcotic trafficking and violence go hand in hand, and these sentences prove that our efforts to identify and arrest those individuals who promote violent crime through the distribution of narcotics is having a positive impact.”
After completion of their sentences, Santana-Hernadez will be deported, and Bland will be placed on court-supervised release for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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