Posted: 6/8/2004 10:01:24 PM EDT
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Man pleads guilty to conspiracy to smuggle ecstasy into U.S. Tuesday June 08, 2004 SAN DIEGO (AP) A San Diego-area man pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to smuggle 33,000 ecstasy tablets into the United States in antique furniture from the Netherlands. Ricky Edmundo Marquez, 36, a suburban La Mesa man who is known as ``the Rock,'' was named in a four-count indictment along with his alleged supplier, Marcel Van der Basch of Holland. Van der Basch and Marquez were both arrested at Marquez's home in January. Authorities learned of the scheme from an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration, who bought nearly 1,000 ecstasy tablets last year from Marquez for $600, according to court documents. Authorities say Marquez told the informant of his plan to import 33,000 hits of ecstasy from Holland followed by a second shipment of 150,000 tablets. Later, he let the informant know that Van der Basch had traveled to San Diego in January. Marquez also pleaded guilty to possessing an illegal machine gun last year that he sold to an informant. The weapon was made by Michael Wayne Jackson, who pleaded guilty in April to manufacturing illegal firearms and is awaiting sentencing. Marquez's brother, Jose, is jailed in Mexico on murder charges. Authorities said Jose Marquez, known as ``El Bat,'' served as a link between the San Diego Mexican Mafia and the Arrellano-Felix cartel, one of Mexico's most violent drug gangs. Mexican prosecutors say they have linked Jose Marquez to 20 murders. |