Last week, a criminal named Ricardo Baltazar-Aguirre, who had the actual name of a Mexican drug cartel saved as the cartel contact in his cellphone, was sentenced.
He had planned to transport 22 pounds of cocaine into Fayetteville a year ago, as revealed by officials.
Baltazar-Aguirre, 52, from South Carolina, conspired with another individual to drive 10 kilos of cocaine up Interstate 95 and deliver it to a drug dealer in Fayetteville in January 2023, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina.
He was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute and possessing with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, according to Michael Easley, the U.S. Attorney for the district.
The plan involved Baltazar-Aguirre following behind his co-conspirator Oscar Nunez-Cortes, 26, in a pickup truck. Nunez-Cortes, also from South Carolina, drove to meet Baltazar-Aguirre at a house in Elloree, South Carolina, where they loaded 10 kilos of cocaine into an SUV.
The intention was to drive north on I-95 from South Carolina to meet a drug buyer in Fayetteville.
As both vehicles arrived in Cumberland County along I-95, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol stopped and searched them. Nunez-Cortes had 10 kilograms of cocaine in the SUV, packaged in kilogram quantities in a large duffel bag in the back seat. Meanwhile, Baltazar-Aguirre had a handgun in the glove compartment of his truck.
Investigations revealed that Baltazar-Aguirre frequently communicated with a Mexican phone number saved in his contacts as “Sinaloa.”
This number was identified as belonging to a member of the Sinaloa Cartel. The discussions involved the sale and distribution of narcotics, with “Sinaloa” giving permission for the deal.
It was later discovered that Nunez-Cortes, the driver of the cocaine-packed SUV, was a heavy user of cocaine, regularly buying up to 2 ounces a week from Baltazar-Aguirre before attempting to set up his own drug deal.
Nunez-Cortes had previously pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Baltazar-Aguirre to 151 months in prison, approximately 12.5 years.
The case was investigated by the Nashville Police Department, Nash County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
