In one of the most bizarre and downright hilarious cases in recent memory, a Pizza Hut delivery driver has been charged with selling cocaine to undercover agents. The driver hid the cocaine inside the pizza boxes and then accepted a much higher tip from the buyer, assumedly to cover the cost of the cocaine inside, which the customers had ordered previously. Investigators and a Tacoma immigration court have said the man has sold over $45,000 worth of cocaine included in the pizza deliveries.
History of the Case
Investigators say they have been tracking Ramon Rodriguez, 45, for over a year as he sold cocaine included in pizza deliveries to customers. While he thought the customers were legitimate they were actually undercover agents working for the government in an attempt to find and weed out drug dealers in the area. The largest single transaction was for $27,500 where he sold a kilogram of cocaine in one transaction to a federal agent. All in all Rodriguez conducted 19 separate transactions. Most of his transactions occurred outside the Pizza Hut restaurant where he worked, and additional transactions were completed at his home less than a few blocks away.
Officers gave detailed accounts of how Rodriguez completed his drug transactions. He would pose as a Pizza Hut delivery driver and would hand a bag, containing the cocaine, along with a box of pizza and a box of chicken nuggets to the undercover officers. He repeatedly stated that this was “cutting into his other deliveries” in an attempt to speed up the overall transaction which would allow him to get out of the area in a quicker amount of time.
Response
So far Papa Johns or the manager of the chain where the drug deals were taking place have had no comment on the issue. Rodriguez was arrested and taken into custody and was charged with one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance as well as one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance. He could face prison time in connection with the charges, unless he is able to prove in court otherwise.
Legal Precedence
This is an important case in legal news because it sets new precedence for convicting drug dealers who operate under the guise of being an employee of an actual company. There are questions as to whether Pizza Hut will face any legal action by the government and law enforcement, although most experts agree they will not be charged with anything because they had no idea the drug sales were taking place.
While drug dealing remains a common problem in the United States legal system, and leaves many US immigration questions. Many of the people who engage in drug dealing in the United States are immigrants, which poses immigration questions as to how these people are allowed into the United States so easily. More regulation is expected to come down as a result of this case, including stricter standards on hiring, more background checks and stricter immigration laws.