Nestor Ramirez, 28, New Brighton, Minn., was convicted Wednesday on one count of conspiracy and one count of possession with intent to distribute in a case where the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office seized almost 550 pounds of cocaine. “That qualifies as one of the largest cocaine seizures in state history,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. Ramirez was arrested Oct. 17, 2007, on Interstate 35 in Franklin County. He was a passenger in a 2006 Chevrolet cargo truck driven by co-defendant Manuel Barraza-Martinez. A Franklin County deputy stopped the truck after authorities were tipped by Georgia authorities that the truck might have an electrically operated hidden compartment that could hold drugs or cash. Truck was driven to the Franklin County Noxious Weed Department in Ottawa, where officers connected a battery charger to wires beneath the truck, causing the first row of trays in a cargo box to open. Inside, they found almost 250 kilograms of cocaine in kilo-sized packages. Ramirez is set for sentencing Nov. 3. He faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life on each count.
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