Mexican National Sentenced to 11 years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking and Illegal Reentry After Deportation

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Pedro Huerta Ramon, 39, of Mexico, was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and unlawfully reentering the United States after prior deportation.

Evidence presented in court revealed that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) became aware of Pedro Huerta Ramon in 2018, after receiving information that Ramon was a high-level cocaine distributor operating in Lexington County. As a result of this investigation, Ramon was arrested and convicted for trafficking cocaine in 2019. Ramon was unlawfully present in the United States and after his conviction, he was deported to Mexico in November 2019.

In 2023, DEA agents received information that Ramon was back in the United States and trafficking kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine imported from Mexico. The investigation revealed Ramon unlawfully returned to the United States in December 2020. Law enforcement developed and used a confidential informant to conduct a series of controlled purchases from Ramon. Ramon sold over a kilogram of pure methamphetamine to the confidential informant and a search of his residence resulted in the seizure of one kilogram of cocaine.

Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson sentenced Ramon to 135 months imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariyana Gore is prosecuting the case.

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