Drug Trafficking Co-Conspirator Sentenced to Federal Prison
Cocaine and Methamphetamine Funneled into the Rogue Valley

MEDFORD, OR—Estaban Martinez-Manjares, 27, of Medford, Oregon, was sentenced today to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. Senior U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner sentenced Martinez-Manjares to 90 months in prison for his role in a drug trafficking organization operating in the Rogue Valley.

According to sentencing documents, the drug investigation by federal and local law enforcement involved multiple court-authorized wire and electronic interceptions (wiretaps), surveillance, controlled purchases, and the execution of a number of search warrants. The intercepted communications and surveillance revealed Martinez-Manjares’ role in the organization wherein drugs were brought into and later distributed in the Rogue Valley. Estaban Martinez-Manjares helped the leader of the organization, Adelma Niebla Cook, 34, also of Medford, store and distribute the drugs as part of their drug trafficking business. In doing so, he provided drugs to purchasers, received payments, and made deliveries. Martinez-Manjares pled guilty, admitting that he conspired with others to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, including more than five kilograms of cocaine from January 2010 up until July 28, 2011, the date of his arrest. District Court Judge Panner sentenced Cook earlier to 160 months in federal prison for her leadership role in the organization.

The sentencing documents also disclose that during the course of the conspiracy, Martinez-Manjares assisted Cook in obtaining large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from the Salem, Oregon area that originated from Mexico. Martinez-Manjares also arranged for the storage of cocaine and methamphetamine in a local storage unit. He repeatedly retrieved drugs from the unit and returned it to his residence to sell. During the investigation, when agents determined that the storage unit was being utilized to store drugs, they obtained a federal search warrant for the storage unit—with court-authorized delayed notification—and seized a locked safe containing a large quantity of cocaine and methamphetamine, along with laser scales and drug paraphernalia.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is a federally funded program established in 1982 whose mission is to support comprehensive, multi-agency investigations designed to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. It was a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Medford Police Department, and Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement (MADGE) and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Chatfield.