London, Ky. —77-year-old-Horacio Raul Estrada-Elias of Mexico was sentenced to life in prison today by U.S. District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves for conspiring to distribute 50,100 pounds of marijuana as part of a 40 member drug ring that yielded approximately $10,000,000 in proceeds.

“The credit goes to the law enforcement officials, FBI, and our office for their tireless work on this case” said Acting United States Attorney Jim Zerhusen. “I think the sentence of Estrada-Elias sends the message that we are working extremely hard to eliminate drug trafficking in this district.”

In the course of his guilty plea, Estrada Elias admitted that from July 2002 through August 2005 he and his co-defendants were involved in a massive drug trafficking ring that conducted transactions in Mexico, Canada, ten states in the U.S. and numerous cities such as, Louisville, Frankfort, Manchester and Mount Vernon. Estrada Elias also acknowledged that he and 45-year-old Jeffrey W. James of San Diego transported between 500-3500 pounds of marijuana on many occasions through commercial carriers from Phoenix, Ariz. to a warehouse in Dayton, Ohio. Former London resident, John R. Sherry, 59, owned the Dayton warehouse and delivered the marijuana to former Clay County Election Commissioner Kenneth Day in Manchester, Ky. The 57-year-old Day also distributed several thousand pounds of marijuana in the Eastern District of Kentucky. Day pled guilty in July 2005 and received 18 years in the Federal System.

The plea agreement also stated that in June of 2006, James, who had already been arrested, was cooperating with FBI Agents and agreed to negotiate with Estrada-Elias to buy 2,600 pounds of marijuana for $2.2 million dollars in Tucson Ariz. On June 29, 2006 the agents arrested Estrada-Elias as he attempted to make the transaction. Following the arrest, agents seized a total of 50,100 pounds of marijuana from the Tucson residence and the van that was making the delivery. Overall, drug seizures to totaled approximately $12,000,000.

James A. Zerhusen, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, acting Special Agent in Charge, Larry R. Willis, Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) jointly made the announcement today after the sentencing. The case was also investigated by Kentucky State Police and London City Police. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen C. Smith.

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