RHODE ISLAND STATE POLICE HIGH INTENSITY DRUG TRAFFICKING AREA (HIDTA) TASK FORCE ARRESTS A PROVIDENCE MAN FOR POSSESSION OF 23.5 KILOGRAMS OF NARCOTICS AND WEAPON CHARGES
RI – Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent, of the Rhode Island State Police and Commissioner of Public Safety, announces that on Sunday, September 4, 2016, members of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force arrested a Providence man for Possession of 23.5 kilograms of narcotics and weapon charges.
On September 4, 2015 at 1:00 PM, members of the HIDTA Task Force executed a court-authorized search warrant at 185 Pavilion Street, 2nd Floor, Providence, Rhode Island. As a result, members of the HIDTA Task Force seized the following items:
• Approximately 22.5 Kilograms of Cocaine;
• Approximately 1 Kilogram of Heroin;
• $1,619.00 Dollars in United States Currency;
• (1) Glock Model 19 Handgun; and
• (2) Digital Scales and packaging material associated with the distribution of narcotics.
Estimated street value of the seized narcotics is between 1.5 and 2 million dollars.
Raul Ramirez, age: 32, of 185 Pavilion Street, 2nd floor, Providence, Rhode Island was arrested and charged with:
o Manufacture/Possession with Intent to Deliver- Heroin;
o Manufacture/Possession/with Intent to Deliver- Cocaine;
o Manufacture/Possession/Delivery of Heroin Greater than 1 Kilogram;
o Manufacture/Possession/Delivery of Cocaine Greater than 1 Kilogram;
o Possession of a Firearm while Committing a Controlled Substance Violation; and
o Distribution of a Controlled Substance Near a School Zone.
Raul Ramirez was processed at State Police Headquarters and arraigned by Justice of the Peace John McCaffrey. Mr. Ramirez was held without bail and transported to the Adult Correctional Institution-Intake Service Center, pending arraignment at Sixth District Court, Providence on Tuesday, September 6, 2016.
Every person violating the provisions of Manufacture/Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, classified in schedule I or II, upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than thirty (30) years, or fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) nor less than three thousand dollars ($3,000), or both.
Every person convicted of violating provisions of Possession of a firearm while committing a controlled substance violation, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty (20) years, and the sentence shall be consecutive to any sentence the person may receive for the delivery, possession with intent to deliver, or the manufacture of the controlled substance. It shall not be a defense to a violation of this subsection that a person has a license or permit to carry or possess a firearm.
The HIDTA Task Force is managed by the Rhode Island State Police and comprised of members from Providence Police, Pawtucket Police, Johnston Police, Central Falls Police, West Warwick Police, East Greenwich Police, Lincoln Police, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).