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A fugitive leader of a drug trafficking operation is sentenced for trafficking cocaine into southern Illinois

Legal Scales Graphic

The ringleader of a Houston-based cocaine trafficking operation has been sentenced in the Southern District of Illinois to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

The court says this brings to a close an investigation and prosecution that spanned several states and more than five years.

46-year-old Samuel Ruben Caraway was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the seizure of 1.2 million dollars in cash, 72-thousand in jewelry, and several kilos of cocaine.

An indictment filed in January 2018 charged Caraway was the leader of a group responsible for distributing more than 4 million dollars’ worth of cocaine throughout Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Texas and Georgia.

Caraway and eight co-defendants were named in the indictment. All the other defendants previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.

They were Victor Johnson (15+ years), Sammy Monroe (14 years), Rodney Smith (12+ years), Dana Bell (7+ years), Nahum Shibeshi (4 years), Astin Allison (12+ years), Terrance Miles (10+ years) and Jamie Green (21+ years).

It was determined they were responsible for trafficking approximately 120 kilos of cocaine into southern Illinois.

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