TN Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering in Central KY

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A Tennessee man has been sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute massive quantities of marijuana and cocaine in central Kentucky, and conspiring to launder approximately one million dollars in drug proceeds.

On Thursday, a U.S. District Judge sentenced Benito Segura Tovar, 34, of Knoxville, Tenn. Under federal law, Tovar must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.

Tovar admitted that he, along with Edgar Villa Castaneda and Miguel Salas, both of Lexington, Ky., conspired to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine and over 1,000 kilograms – roughly 2,200 pounds – of marijuana between August 2014 and February 2015. The cocaine was supplied in part by Raul Garcia Valencia of Atlanta, Ga.

The defendants distributed the drugs in Tennessee, Georgia, and central Kentucky, including Fayette, Madison and Montgomery Counties. Tovar also admitted that he, Villa Castaneda, and Salas conspired to launder over one million dollars in drug proceeds.

Law enforcement seized approximately four kilograms of cocaine, 150 pounds of marijuana, several firearms, and approximately $1,000,0000 in bulk cash during the investigation.

Villa Castaneda and Salas pleaded guilty last year. Villa Castaneda was sentenced to 204 months’ imprisonment; Salas was sentenced to 174 months’ imprisonment. Garcia Valencia was convicted at trial in June 2016 and sentenced to 160 months’ imprisonment.