U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Federico Hawkins, age 41, of Laredo, Texas, yesterday to 190 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, in one of the largest drug investigations by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Maryland, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to the plea agreement presented to the court and court documents, from 2004 to 2005 Hawkins conspired with Jose Francisco Arriaga-Moreno, age 53, Antonio Flores, age 52, and Roque Antonio Martinez, age 25, all of Laredo, Texas, and Victoriano Sanchez-Pineda, age 22, of Yadkinville, North Carolina, to distribute between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine by causing others to mail packages filled with cocaine from Texas to Maryland. The defendants leased post office boxes in Glen Burnie, College Park, Elkridge, Hanover and Crofton, Maryland; Texas; North Carolina and South Carolina. The defendants sent packages, each package typically containing eight kilograms of cocaine, from Texas to the post office boxes. The post office boxes also were used to facilitate the transfer of cash, including approximately $170,000 seized at a post office box in Laredo, Texas in June 2005. The defendants also leased storage units in Jessup, Maryland and North Carolina to store cocaine, money and materials used for the packaging of cocaine. Eight kilograms of cocaine were seized from each of two storage units leased in Jessup and Glen Burnie; and from each of two post office boxes located in Glen Burnie and College Park.
Using his own name and aliases, Hawkins was the primary applicant on approximately 25 post office boxes in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Hawkins admits that the distribution of between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine is attributable to his participation in the conspiracy.
Arriaga-Morena, Sanchez-Pineda, Martinez and Flores previously pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy. The defendants remain detained. Judge Titus sentenced Arriaga-Morena on January 18, 2007 to 70 months, which was to run concurrently to a ten-year sentence he received in Laredo, Texas on related charges. Judge Titus sentenced Sanchez-Pineda on March 9, 2007 to 37 months in prison. The two remaining defendants – Flores and Martinez – face a minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in prison, followed by a mandatory term of supervised release of five years, and a fine of up to $4,000,000.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the investigative work performed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Maryland State Police and Baltimore-Washington HIDTA task force, as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Laredo, Texas. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney David I. Salem, who is prosecuting the case.