A truck driver from New Jersey has been charged for trafficking over 260 lbs. of crystal meth and 6.6 lbs. of fentanyl from California to Pennsylvania.
David Jusino Ramirez, 65, worked as a commercial truck driver who, in addition to legitimate cargo, transported illegal drugs from California to Pennsylvania as part of a drug trafficking organization, according to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler. He was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute after a five-day jury trial, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced in a news release.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine, according to the release.
“We hope this sends a message to traffickers that we will prosecute to the full extent of the law anybody who brings these deadly and addictive substances into our communities,” said Brandler.
The release states that on October 8, 2020, Jusino Ramirez and another person drove a tractor trailer carrying over 120 kilogram (approximately 264 lbs.) of 100% pure crystal methamphetamine and 3 kilograms (approximately 6.6 lbs.) of fentanyl from Montebello California to a truck stop near Hazelton, Pennsylvania. There, they delivered the methamphetamine to another man in exchange for $28,000 in cash.
The three men were arrested by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration along with officers from the Pennsylvania State Police and the Hazelton Police Department, who had tracked the shipment and watched the exchange.
“We will work tirelessly to safeguard our communities from drugs like crystal methamphetamine and fentanyl,” Brandler said in the release. “With overdose deaths at record highs, successful investigations that result in these kinds of seizures and convictions save lives.”
