Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Ramon X. Nunez-Polanco, 59, a citizen of Mexico and lawful permanent resident of the United States, has been sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for his participation in a drug conspiracy and firearms trafficking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Steven D. Weinhoeft, announced today. The sentencing follows Nunez-Polanco’s guilty plea earlier this year to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances (cocaine and methamphetamine) and conspiracy to transfer a firearm to a previously convicted felon.

According to court documents, during August and September 2016, Nunez-Polanco transported cocaine from the Central District of California to North Carolina and the Eastern District of Wisconsin in a semi-tractor trailer unit containing a non-factory compartment for concealing the drugs. He also transported drug-trafficking proceeds and firearms from the Eastern District of Wisconsin back to the Central District of California, all at the direction of a drug trafficking organization operating in the Central District of California, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, North Carolina, and the Southern District of Illinois. Nunez-Polanco was arrested on September 7, 2016, in the Southern District of Illinois in possession of firearms, ammunition, and firearm magazines he was transporting from the Eastern District of Wisconsin to the Central District of California.

Information leading to the charges against Nunez-Polanco was obtained in an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.

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