KCK Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Over 450 Kilos of Cocaine

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Kansas, man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 450 kilograms of cocaine in the metropolitan area.

Jesus Salvador Campoy-Estrada, also known as “Chava” and “Chavita,” 25, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to participating in the drug-trafficking conspiracy that lasted from October 2013 to Nov. 15, 2018. Campoy-Estrada also pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Campoy-Estrada was a large cocaine supplier in the Kansas City metropolitan area who received cocaine, smuggled from Mexico, from the leader of the drug-trafficking organization. He then made multi-kilogram sales to other cocaine dealers involved in the conspiracy. Campoy-Estrada admitted that he distributed well in excess of 450 kilograms of cocaine during his involvement in the conspiracy.

A confidential witness started distributing cocaine with Campoy-Estrada in 2015. Initially, they distributed approximately eight to 10 kilograms of cocaine per week. By 2016, they were distributing 10 to 20 kilograms of cocaine per week.

When Campoy-Estrada was arrested, officers searched his mother’s residence and found $111,995 in cash, which he admitted was illicit drug proceeds from the sale of 3.5 to 4 kilograms of powder cocaine. Officers also found a loaded XD 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a drug ledger.

Co-defendants Miguel Armendariz-Rascon, 31, a citizen of Mexico residing in Olathe, Kansas, and Armando Rosales Jr., 30, of San Elizario, Texas, have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.

Campoy-Estrada and Armendariz-Rascon admitted they gave $491,211 in drug-trafficking proceeds to another co-conspirator, and received an unknown amount of powder cocaine. The money, which was seized by law enforcement, represented the proceeds of the distribution of more than 17 kilograms of cocaine.

Rosales admitted that he was a courier for the drug-trafficking organization. Investigators had received information that a shipment of cocaine was being delivered to the Kansas City, Missouri, metropolitan area. On Dec. 18, 2017, a DEA investigator stopped the Ford F-150 pickup Rosales was driving near Sweetwater, Texas. The investigator searched Rosales’s vehicle and found eight packages completely wrapped in electrical tape in the rear seat back of the truck. The packages contained a total of approximately eight kilograms of powder cocaine. Rosales admitted he was transporting the cocaine to the Kansas City metropolitan area.

According to the plea agreement, the drug-trafficking organization was purchasing cocaine for approximately $27,000 to $27,500 per kilogram. Accordingly, the value of the eight kilograms that Rosales transported was at least $216,000.

Under federal statutes, Campoy-Estrada is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Smith. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department.