LANCASTER, Pa. — A Lancaster woman will serve up to 40 months in prison following her conviction for cocaine trafficking, the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Friday.
Moniqua Ramirez, 44, was sentenced at a recent hearing before U.S. District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson. She was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine last November, according to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam.
According to law enforcement authorities, Ramirez conspired with others to smuggle kilograms of cocaine into Central Pennsylvania through the U.S. Mail.
The cocaine was shipped in Puerto Rico and mailed to various drop locations in Lancaster, where the parcels were retrieved by conspirators for further distribution, Karam said. The conspirators also engaged in street level drug trafficking, including selling heroin and fentanyl to customers.
Cash from the drug sales were transported back to Puerto Rico to further additional trafficking activities, Karam said.
Ramirez’s coconspirators, Jonathan Lopez Arizmendi, Ricardo Soto, Ricky Sanchez, Angel Leon-Rivera, Omar Carmenaty Morales, and Lucas Doel Gonzalez-Alvarado all pleaded guilty, according to Karam.
They were sentenced as follows:
- Jonathan Arizmendi was sentenced to 150 months in prison
- Ricardo Soto was sentenced to 46 months in prison
- Ricky Sanchez was sentenced to 36 months in prison
- Lucas Doel Gonzalez-Alvarado was sentenced to 97 months in prison
Angel Leon-Rivera and Omar Carmenaty Morales are awaiting sentencing, Karam said.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Pennsylvania State Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Lancaster County Drug Task Force and York County Drug Task Force.
