A Texas man who oversaw a drug ring in the Kansas City metro area was sentenced Wednesday to 262 months in federal prison in a case investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division, Kansas City District Office.
Jorge Portillo-Uranga, 36, Teague, Texas, pleaded guilty to seven felony counts, including conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and using a telephone in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to court documents, the DEA began an investigation in 2016 of a drug trafficking organization headed by Portillo-Uranga that was selling kilogram quantities of cocaine and marijuana to buyers in the Kansas City metro area.
Portillo-Uranga managed the operation from his home in Teague.
Investigators intercepted communications between Portillo-Uranga in Texas and other members of the organization as he directed their movements in obtaining cocaine and delivering it to Kansas City.
In various conversations, Portillo-Uranga expressed his suspicions that some of the traffickers were skimming cocaine from the shipments.
