Federal Sentence Handed Down in Hastings Drug Case

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Francisco Ramirez-Vasquez, 22, of Guatemala, was sentenced on June 25, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for one count of possession of meth with the intent to distribute. Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Ramirez-Vasquez to a total of 87 months’ imprisonment for both counts. There is no parole in the federal system. After Ramirez-Vasquez’s release from prison, he will begin a 2-year term of supervised release.

On March 15, 2023, the United States Postal Service (USPS) discovered a suspicious package in the mail.  A drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the package and inside the package, investigators found three bundles of suspected meth that weighed approximately seven pounds.  Investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence in Hastings and completed a controlled delivery of the package on March 16, 2023.  While searching the residence, investigators located the package used during the controlled delivery, a second USPS box containing meth, additional meth in other locations in the residence, cocaine, a suspected drug ledger, $8,026 in U.S. currency, a digital scale, unused sandwich baggies consistent with packaging narcotics, and drug paraphernalia.  Ramirez-Vasquez’s phone was seized and searched.  The phone contained messages related to drug distribution. 

The State Patrol Crime Lab confirmed the substance seized in the USPS boxes was meth, with a total weight over 2665 grams.  A sample weighing 443 grams was tested for purity.  The lab confirmed that the sample contained at least 420 grams of meth actual.

This case was investigated by the Tri-City Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT). TRIDENT is a task force with law enforcement personnel from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Grand Island Police Department, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Hastings Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Kearney Police Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol.