A South Carolina resident, Nicolas Yarcil Uribe-Tamayo, has been sentenced to 151 months in prison and five years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine. The drugs were supplied by a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) with connections to the Sinaloa cartel, according to Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Uribe-Tamayo, age 26 and from Easley, South Carolina, pleaded guilty on November 7, 2024, to possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine.
Court documents indicate that in 2023 law enforcement identified a Mexico-based DTO supplying large quantities of methamphetamine into North Carolina. Uribe-Tamayo was found to be a local distributor. Surveillance showed another DTO member providing him with a kilogram of methamphetamine. Law enforcement followed Uribe-Tamayo as he drove to Charlotte at high speed and stopped at a restaurant on West Sugar Creek Road. Officers approached due to his driving and noticed the smell of marijuana coming from his vehicle. A search revealed a kilogram of methamphetamine on the rear seat floorboard along with an AR-15 style rifle, a loaded high-capacity magazine containing 32 rounds, and digital scales.
“Cartels like Sinaloa are infiltrating our communities with drugs, not to mention guns and violence,” said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. “We are committed to their total elimination.”
Records show that Uribe-Tamayo had worked with the DTO for nearly two years and received multiple large shipments of narcotics for distribution.
He will remain in federal custody until transfer to the Federal Bureau of Prisons after designation of a facility.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), North Carolina Highway Patrol, Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, Lexington Police Department, and Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller prosecuted the case.
