A Toledo man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of operating a heroin and fentanyl trafficking ring. Robert Escobar, 51, was arrested in 2019 after a months-long investigation by law enforcement officials.
According to court records, Escobar sold cocaine and a fentanyl-heroin mixture to a confidential informant on multiple occasions between March and October of 2019. He was caught making comments about the potency of his narcotics, saying, “I’m tellin’ you it’s going to kill ‘em,” during one of the controlled buys.
Escobar also described two different types of narcotics that he sold, naming them “Maserati” and “XXX,” both of which were marked on packages later seized by law enforcement officials. On October 8, 2019, officers executed a search warrant at four different residences associated with Escobar and seized almost two kilograms of mixtures containing heroin, approximately three kilograms of mixtures containing fentanyl and over three kilograms of mixtures containing valeryl fentanyl.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA Toledo Task Force and the Toledo Police Department Vice Unit. The Task Force includes representatives of the DEA, Perrysburg Township Police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Wauseon Police Department, Sylvania Police Department, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Sandusky Police Department and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Toledo Police Department SWAT team also assisted in the operation.
Escobar was arrested following the execution of the search warrants. He pleaded guilty in February of 2021 to three counts of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. The charges in the indictment carried a penalty enhancement due to Escobar’s previous felony drug conviction in 2001 of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alissa M. Sterling, James L. Morford and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley A. Futrell. U.S. Judge Jack Zouhary sentenced Escobar to 25 years imprisonment on September 28, 2021.
Law enforcement officials seized narcotics packaging materials and narcotics proceeds from all four locations. In addition, investigators confiscated 21 empty kilogram packages, blenders, scales, a vacuum sealer, cutting agents and a respirator type mask during the search of an address on N. Michigan Avenue.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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