A Kansas City, Mo., man who boasted about having associates selling cocaine in several local bars and nightclubs was sentenced in federal court today for distributing cocaine.
Manuel A. Contreras, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 11 years and three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Contreras to forfeit to the government $40,600, which represents the proceeds of his illegal cocaine trafficking.
On Oct. 26, 2023, Contreras pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing cocaine. According to his plea agreement, Contreras sold more than a kilogram of cocaine to an FBI confidential source over five separate occasions in 2022, for a total of $40,600.
On Oct. 14, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Contreras’s residence. Officers found a loaded SCCY 9mm semi-automatic handgun, 196.7 grams of cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and $2,526 in cash in his bedroom.
According to court documents, Contreras told the confidential source that he had people who sold cocaine for him at several bars and nightclubs in the Kansas City area.
Contreras also told the confidential source that he had done business with another defendant who was indicted in a separate and unrelated drug trafficking case. Contreras said he had taken that person’s BMW i8 for some time for a drug debt, only returning the car when he was paid $15,000, and that he had taken guns and drugs from this person because he owed Contreras approximately $28,000.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the FBI.
