Mexican native pleads guilty to cocaine distribution charges
News-Democrat

A Mexican national pleaded guilty today to charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and entering the United States illegally.

Noe Figueroa-Felix, 20, was arrested after officers found a secret compartment in his car that held 11 kilograms of cocaine when they stopped him for stealing gas from a gas station in Lebanon.

Figueroa-Felix said he was paid $7,000 for transporting cocaine from Denver to Fort Wayne, Ind.. He also told officials that he was a citizen of Mexico and had entered the United States illegally.

For the drug offense, Figueroa-Felix faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison, a fine of up to $4 million and at least five years supervised release.

For the immigration offense, he faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year supervised release.

Figueroa-Felix is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 19 in East St. Louis.

The investigation was conducted by the Lebanon Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, in cooperation with the St. Clair County State Attorney's Office, as part of the agencies' participation in Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nation-wide initiative intended to combat gun and drug crimes.
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