GREENEVILLE, TN—On June 21, 2012, three
more individuals involved in a large scale cocaine and marijuana trafficking
operation were sentenced in U.S. District Court by the Honorable Leon Jordan,
U.S. District Judge.
Andres Linares, 31, of Knoxville, Tennessee,
was sentenced to serve 124 months in prison; Manuel Perez Burelo, 35, of
Kingsport, Tennessee, was sentenced to serve 132 months in prison; and Pablo
Jose Pacheco, 49, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison, for their
respective involvement in this vast conspiracy operating in the Tri-Cities area
of East Tennessee. Linares, Burelo, and Pacheco are all in the country
illegally from Mexico and will be deported after serving their sentences.
A total of 36 defendants were indicted
in October 2010 for engaging in large scale cocaine and marijuana trafficking.
The conspiracy was responsible for the distribution of several kilograms of
cocaine per month in the Tri-Cities area over an extended period of time. Law
enforcement agents made over 100 cocaine buys from the various individuals in
this conspiracy. Ultimately, law enforcement agents concluded the overall
investigation by executing 13 search warrants at various locations in Johnson
City, Kingsport, and Knoxville, Tennessee. During these searches, agents found
approximately 3.5 kilograms of cocaine, 200 pounds of marijuana, and a
significant number of firearms and ammunition.
Linares was identified as the main
cocaine source of supply to the Tri-Cities area. A search warrant executed at
his Knoxville residence resulted in the seizure of two kilograms of cocaine. In
September 2010, he was also involved in a traffic stop near Knoxville,
Tennessee, where before officers could reach his vehicle, Linares fled on foot,
jumped a guardrail, and ran into the woods with over $20,000 in cash from a
prior cocaine sale.
Burelo was one of the primary cocaine
dealers in the Tri-Cities area. Of the over 100 cocaine buys involved in the
entire case, at least 20 purchases were made from him alone. In June 2010, he
also distributed a firearm to a confidential informant during the course of
another cocaine transaction.
Pacheco stipulated in his plea agreement
that he intended to stop assisting in the operation of a local prostitution
ring in order to dedicate himself to selling cocaine. He was caught on a
subsequent recording negotiating with his source of supply, Tomas Estrada
Sarabia to purchase one kilogram of cocaine.
At the present time, approximately 30 of
those charged have already been sentenced, with more scheduled for sentencing
hearings over the next few months. One individual is set for trial in August
2012.
U.S. Attorney William C. Killian stated,
“The arrests and convictions in this case resulted in the elimination of
massive quantities of cocaine being distributed in the Eastern District of
Tennessee. The main distributors were in the country illegally. I want to thank
all those involved in bringing these individuals to justice and removing some
dangerous people from our society.”
Law enforcement agencies participating
in the investigation which led to indictment and subsequent convictions of
Fernandez, Mojica, and others include the Tennessee First Judicial District
Drug Task Force; Tennessee Second Judicial District Drug Task Force; Sullivan
County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; Kingsport, Tennessee Police Department;
Bristol, Tennessee Police Department; Carter County, Tennessee Sheriff’s
Office; Elizabethton, Tennessee Police Department; Erwin, Tennessee Police
Department; Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; Johnson City,
Tennessee Police Department; Jonesborough, Tennessee Police Department; Hamblen
County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; Morristown, Tennessee Police Department;
Johnson County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; Knox County, Tennessee Sheriff’s
Office; Knoxville, Tennessee Police Department; Knoxville, Tennessee High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force; Tennessee Bureau of Investigation;
Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, all
of which provided invaluable assistance during the course of the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.
This case was part of the Department’s
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) programs. OCDETF is the primary weapon of the
United States against the highest level drug trafficking organizations
operating within the United States, importing drugs into the United States, or
laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking. The HIDTA program enhances and
coordinates drug control efforts among local, state, and federal law
enforcement agencies. The program provides agencies with coordination,
equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and
its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States.
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