Final Member Of A Hillsborough Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced To 10 Years In Federal Prison For Conspiracy To Distribute Heroin And Fentanyl

Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Jose Miriel Morales Sanchez (32, Tampa) to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Morales Sanchez entered a guilty plea on March 4, 2024.

According to court documents, beginning on an unknown date not later than September 1, 2017, and continuing through August 27, 2020, Morales Sanchez conspired with William Franqui and others to distribute heroin and fentanyl in the Middle District of Florida. Franqui, who was the leader of the drug trafficking organization (DTO), used "runners" to field calls from customers and fulfill orders. The runners distributed the heroin to users in plastic baggies for $10 a bag. The DTO included co-defendants Kevin Darnell Diaz Tirado, Edgardo Colon Rosado, Orlando Muniz Escalera, Marie Rodriguez, and others. More than a kilogram of heroin was distributed through the runner network. Franqui also distributed larger quantities of heroin and fentanyl to other drug dealers. Investigators connected multiple overdoses to the heroin and fentanyl distributed by the DTO.

William Franqui was sentenced in August 2023 to 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Morales Sanchez and codefendants Diaz Tirado, Colon Rosado, and Muniz Escalera were all part of Franqui's runner network and also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and were sentenced in previous hearings. Judge Barber previously sentenced Diaz Tirado to 5 years, Muniz Escalera to 10 years, and Colon Rosado to 6 years and 6 months in federal prison. Franqui's wife, Marie Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of heroin, was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.

This investigation is the result of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation's drug supply.