Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Oklahoma City, Ok., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in southwest Missouri.
Edward Uribe, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 300 months in federal prison without parole. Uribe was also ordered to forfeit $210,000 in drug trafficking proceeds to the government.
On Nov. 25, 2024, Uribe pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Uribe admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Barry, Stone, Polk, Lawrence, Green, Jasper, and Newton counties which lasted from Nov. 1, 2020, to April 28, 2022. According to court documents, Uribe served as a main source of methamphetamine supply for the drug trafficking organization from Feb. 1, 2022, to April 28, 2022. During that time, Uribe facilitated the distribution of more than 460 pounds of methamphetamine from Oklahoma into southwest Missouri.
Uribe, who was incarcerated in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for a previous methamphetamine trafficking conviction, used a contraband cell phone to communicate with his co-conspirators. He used a messaging app on the phone to schedule transportation and delivery of the methamphetamine and provide instructions on how to prepare the drug for sale. Uribe also used the app and proceeds from his drug trafficking to arrange the purchase of a drone with the intent to smuggle drugs and other contraband into prison.
Uribe is among 20 defendants in this case who have pleaded guilty. Uribe is the eighteenth defendant to be sentenced.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team, the Barry County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Stone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Combined Ozark Multi-Jurisdictional Enforcement Team (COMET), the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Polk County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Ottawa County, Okla., Sheriff’s Department, the Bolivar, Mo., Police Department, the Cassville, Mo., Police Department, the Kimberling City, Mo., Police Department, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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