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3 Arrested In Cocaine Bust

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

TAMPA - Two brothers and a third man have been arrested on charges they conspired to pay $40,000 to have 10 kilograms of cocaine smuggled to Tampa from Colombia.

One of the men had a sport utility vehicle outfitted with hydraulic lifts in the luggage compartment so it could hold the cocaine, according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court.

The brothers, Ariel Ramirez-Roa, 34, and Wilder Ramirez-Roa, 29, both of Orlando, met with a man they didn't know was an undercover Tampa police detective, on Oct. 9 at WestShore Plaza mall, according to the complaint.

The detective told them he had 10 kilos of cocaine that belonged to an associate of theirs and they could take possession of it if they would pay a $40,000 transportation fee, the complaint states.

Three days later, the detective met Ariel Ramirez-Roa in the parking lot of the mall, the complaint states. Ramirez-Roa directed him to drive to the lower level of the parking garage, where Ramirez-Roa retrieved a large sum of money from an SUV, the complaint states.

Ramirez-Roa told the detective he had to get the rest of the money from the person driving the vehicle in which the cocaine would be carried. Ramirez-Roa directed the detective to leave the parking garage because he didn't want the detective to see the vehicle. After the detective left, undercover surveillance detectives saw Ramirez-Roa walk to a Toyota Sequoia SUV registered to Jorge Andres Osorio, 29, of Pembroke Pines, the complaint states.

A short time later, Ariel Ramirez-Roa left the Sequoia and called the detective, asking him to come pick him up where he had left him.

The detective took Ramirez-Roa to a nearby office where Ramirez-Roa gave him the money, the complaint states. The detective then showed Ramirez-Roa 13 1-kilogram packages of cocaine on a table, and Ramirez-Roa picked out 10 kilos, the complaint states.

After his arrest, Ariel Ramirez-Roa agreed to cooperate, according to the complaint. Through a series of telephone calls, he set up a meeting with Osorio at a BP gas station off Exit 10 on Interstate 4. Law enforcement stopped Osorio near the station and arrested him, the complaint states.

Osorio told investigators he gave Ramirez-Roa $13,500 to participate in a business transaction. He said he didn't know the exact nature of the transaction but 'admitted, however, that he believed Ariel Ramirez-Roa was in the drug business,' the complaint states.

Detectives searching the Sequoia found a custom-built hidden compartment with hydraulic lifts in the luggage area, the complaint states. 'The hidden compartment was large enough to carry more than 10 kilograms of cocaine,' the complaint states.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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