United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOISE, Idaho – Ricardo Rodriguez, 61, of Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced to 155 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

According to court records, Rodriguez was a member of a drug trafficking organization operating out of eastern Oregon.  Rodriguez supplied several of his co-conspirators with methamphetamine for redistribution in Idaho.  The investigation revealed that Rodriguez was distributing approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine per week.

On January 24, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rodriguez’s residence.  There, they found an unlawfully possessed .40 caliber firearm, several thousand dollars in U.S. currency, a bag with hundreds of fentanyl pills, and another with an ounce of methamphetamine.

“Methamphetamine traffickers like Mr. Rodriguez profit from the pain they cause selling poison to our neighbors,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division.  “I am gratified that the DEA and our partners were able to stop the threat he posed to our communities and that he received this richly deserved accountability.”

U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also ordered Rodriguez to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

“This is another example of our law enforcement partners working together to ensure that drug traffickers are held accountable for distributing controlled substances in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit.  “Traffickers will not evade prosecution for dealing drugs here in Idaho simply because they live across state lines.”

“Teamwork is critical to stop drug trafficking groups.  This case started in our community, but crossed many jurisdictional boundaries, to include the state line into Oregon,” said Nampa Police Sergeant Shane Huston.  “If we didn’t have effective partnerships, we would not be as successful as we are in catching these career criminals.  We’ll keep working hard and working together because we do not want this type of activity in Nampa.”

U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Nampa Police Department Special Investigations Unit, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, and the Oregon High Desert Drug Task Force, which led to the charges and arrest.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Morse prosecuted this case.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The High Desert Drug Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force that identifies, disrupts, and dismantles local, multi-state, and international drug trafficking organizations using an intelligence-driven, multi-agency prosecutor-supported approach.  They are supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).

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