A former cargo operations manager at Miami International Airport was sentenced to 50 months in prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
Vinicio Morales, 53, of Miami, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846.
According to the court record, in 2011, while working as an employee at Miami International Airport, Morales agreed to be paid $12,500 for his participation in a conspiracy to assist with the offloading of cocaine into the United States, from arriving international flights. Ultimately, Morales offloaded what he believed to be five kilograms of cocaine from the cargo can of a plane that had arrived at Miami International Airport in the Southern District of Florida.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Stewart.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
