The final three defendants in a cocaine trafficking case involving eight individuals were sentenced in the U.S. District Court over the past two weeks. The organization, led by Herminio Gonzalez-Quintana, was responsible for smuggling significant quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico into Ohio.
Gonzalez-Quintana and his associates were indicted in November 2023 on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess large amounts of cocaine. The investigation began in 2021 when the DEA discovered the group's operations transporting drugs into Ohio's Southern District.
According to court documents, the group sourced cocaine through Puerto Rico, shipping it via the United States Postal Service to Columbus using fictitious recipient names at addresses of friends and family members. From there, the drugs were distributed further within central Ohio.
Authorities linked nearly 20 kilograms of seized cocaine to this operation. Sentences handed down include:
- Herminio Gonzalez-Quintana: 120 months
- Abdel Padilla-Montero: 108 months
- Josaias Vazquez-Pinero: 60 months
- Jonathan Vega-Iglesias: 66 months
- Jesus Maldonado-Ortiz: 60 months
- Rafael Alicea-Ruiz: 60 months
- Anthony Miranda-Gonzalez: 12 months and one day
- Pablo Joel Velazquez-Torruella: Time served
The sentences were announced by Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, alongside Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge at the DEA Detroit Division. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall and Jennifer M. Rausch represented the prosecution.
