HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) – A man from Miami was sentenced in Connecticut for trafficking cocaine from South America.
Rupert De Las Casas, 64, learned his fate in court in Hartford on Wednesday, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.
De Las Casas was sentenced to 85 months in prison, time already served and three years of supervised release for his participation in two separate cocaine trafficking conspiracies.
According to court documents and statements made in court, De Las Casas conspired with others to transport about 1,700 kg of cocaine from South America to the U.S.
On Aug. 6, 2016, Avery said De Las Casas and Ronier Sanchez Alonso flew a private jet, which was registered in the U.S., from the Dominican Republic to Venezuela where the cocaine was to be loaded onto the jet. De Las Casas was the pilot and Sanchez was the co-pilot.
“From Venezuela, the jet was to fly to Honduras where the cocaine would be loaded onto trucks for transport through Mexico into the U.S.,” Avery said. “A fake flight plan filed with Dominican authorities reported that the plane was traveling to Brazil. The plane crash-landed just short of a landing strip in Venezuela. De Las Casas, Sanchez, and another co-conspirator evaded capture by Venezuelan authorities and the cocaine was diverted back to Colombia.”
On Dec. 14, 2016, a grand jury in Bridgeport returned an indictment charging De Las Casas, Sanchez, and others with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kg or more of cocaine on board an aircraft registered in the U.S.
De Las Casas was arrested on April 15, 2017, and pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 23, 2019. He has been detained since his arrest, Avery said.
After his arrest, De Las Casas was charged in California for his participation in a separate cocaine trafficking conspiracy. His case was transferred to Connecticut and, on Feb. 27, 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine for the purpose of unlawful importation.
Sanchez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested in Asuncion, Paraguay, on March 25, 2021. He was extradited to the U.S., pleaded guilty, and, on Dec. 20, 2023, was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
Another suspect, Arrinson De La Cruz, who had worked at an airport in the Dominican Republic and helped to coordinate the travel of the jet through the airport, was charged separately for his role in this scheme and other drug trafficking activity. De La Cruz, a citizen of the Dominican Republic who had lived in Wolcott pleaded guilty. On Nov. 20, 2019, he was sentenced to 144 months in prison.
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