Three members of a large-scale cocaine trafficking organization operating in the Florida Keys have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a years-long conspiracy to distribute cocaine throughout Monroe County.
U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II sentenced John Robert Strama Jr., 44, Pedro Luis Lugo Jr., 38, and Elvis Lazaro Ruiz, 34, all of Marathon, to 120 months, 85 months and 65 months in prison, respectively.
Strama and Ruiz previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. Lugo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
“Fishing for ‘square groupers’ in the waters off the Florida Keys is not a harmless pastime; it is drug trafficking and it carries serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “These defendants recovered kilogram quantities of cocaine from the sea and distributed them throughout the Florida Keys for years. Their sentences send a clear message: Whether drugs arrive by land, air or sea, we will work with our law enforcement partners to find the traffickers, dismantle their networks and bring them to justice.”
The three were among 27 defendants charged in a federal indictment stemming from a cocaine distribution network that operated from at least 2020 through 2023.
According to court records, Strama, identified as a leader of the organization, obtained much of the cocaine he distributed by finding and recovering “floaters” — waterproof wrapped kilogram packages of cocaine — at sea. A professional boat operator, Strama used his knowledge of local waterways, tides and currents to recover dozens of kilograms of cocaine over the course of the conspiracy. He then distributed the cocaine to co-conspirators and other buyers throughout the Keys.
Strama, Ruiz and Lugo were held responsible for distributing between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine during the conspiracy.
So far, 25 defendants have been sentenced. Kizmet Yatz Qualls and Daniel Fernando Ramirez are scheduled to be sentenced later.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and special agent in charge Brett Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI Miami is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean McLaughlin and Frank Tamen prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information are on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20386.
