A St. Louis man, Richard Treis, has been sentenced to nine years in prison by U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp for attempting to purchase 40 pounds of methamphetamine. The sentencing took place on Tuesday.
The case dates back to July 29, 2020, when Treis and Dennis Dewrock arrived at a gas station in Pacific, Missouri, with a bag full of cash to buy the drugs. This deal was organized using a cell phone that had been smuggled into prison.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso had prior knowledge of the plan. A month before the incident, they discovered that Tarik “Morocco” Mazhar, an inmate at the Great Plains Correctional Institution in Hinton, Oklahoma, intended to buy a large quantity of methamphetamine. An undercover HSI agent got involved in the operation after receiving confirmation from Treis that the drug delivery would occur in Missouri. Both Treis and Mazhar sent pictures of cash to the agent via the smuggled phone.
Following this setup, agents arrested Treis and Dewrock after they exchanged money for drugs.
Treis admitted guilt for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and agreed to forfeit $128,000 held by Homeland Security Investigations as part of his plea agreement.
Mazhar pleaded guilty to the same charge in December 2021 and is currently serving a 13-year sentence. Dewrock also admitted guilt and received a five-year prison sentence.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with Assistant U.S. Attorney Ricardo Dixon prosecuting the case.
