Cocaine image courtesy of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Federal Agents Allegedly Seize $145,000 and 16 Kilos of Cocaine in April
MISSOURI — Three people from Missouri and two from Texas have been indicted in a drug-trafficking conspiracy case, which resulted in federal agents allegedly seizing 16 kilograms of cocaine and over $145,000 last month, the DEA announced today.
The charges announced today replace an earlier indictment and alleges the conspiracy lasted about two years and four months, ending about a month ago.
The three Missouri residents are from the Springfield area while the other two defendants are citizens of Honduras and Mexico but live in Grand Prairie, Texas, which is 430 miles south of Springfield. Agents seized over $145,000 from the Texas defendants’ residence, where the 16 kilograms of cocaine were also allegedly found, according to the DEA.
A federal grand jury in Springfield returned the 10-count indictment against the defendants:
Mario Jose Castillo, 55, Springfield; Christhian Eduardo Cruz-Pineda, 22, a citizen of Honduras living in Springfield; Johnathan David Emerson, 47, Willard, Mo.; Bryan Ramirez-Aguero, 33, a citizen of Honduras, and Erika Martinez Hernandez, 40, a citizen of Mexico, both living in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Castillo also faces gun charges including felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm in “furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime,” a DEA news release states.
And Castillo, Emerson and Martinez Hernandez also face a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Springfield Police Department and the Greene County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.
