KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Texas man who oversaw a drug ring in the Kansas City metro area was sentenced Wednesday to 262 months in federal prison, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
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 Drug Enforcement Administration 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, Texas. 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.