Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has handed down significant prison sentences to two Texas residents for their roles in a cocaine trafficking operation. Arnulfo Rodriguez-Munoz, 43, from Fort Worth, and Enrique Velasquez, 45, from Dallas, were each sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
The sentencing followed their guilty pleas on June 22, 2023, for charges related to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute significant quantities of cocaine.
The convictions stem from a coordinated law enforcement effort to crack down on drug trafficking operations. According to court documents, the duo was involved in arranging several shipments of cocaine intended for Florida.
Velasquez was responsible for coordinating one such shipment, which was ultimately intercepted by authorities. He also traveled to the Tampa Bay area to manage the collection of proceeds from these illicit activities.
Rodriguez-Munoz’s involvement included traveling to Florida to oversee two further cocaine shipments, one of which was ingeniously concealed inside a speaker box. Like the previous attempts, these shipments were also seized by law enforcement officials.
The case also saw the sentencing of two co-conspirators. Heriberto Castillo received a seven-year federal prison term, and David Ceballos was sentenced to three years and one month.
This case was part of a broader Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative, which uses a multi-agency approach to disrupt and dismantle major criminal organizations. The OCDETF operation includes elements of intelligence-driven, prosecutor-led investigations aiming to neutralize high-level threats to public safety.
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The Drug Enforcement Administration, Hardee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lakeland Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Rodriguez-Munoz and Velasquez. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael R. Kenneth and Diego F. Novaes led the prosecution.
For more details about the OCDETF program and its efforts against drug trafficking and organized crime, visit https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
