Calumet City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking in Chicago area

CHICAGO - A Calumet City man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for trafficking cocaine in the Chicago area and obstructing justice by lying during his trial.

According to prosecutors, Jorge Diaz conspired in 2016 with two individuals in Mexico to traffic multiple kilograms of cocaine. He arranged transactions where he thought he was receiving cocaine, but law enforcement had replaced the drugs with sham narcotics.

Diaz was arrested following one of the transactions, leading to a search of his residence where $23,000 in cash, a money counter, cellphones, suspected drug ledgers, and other items were found.

Diaz, 35, was convicted last year of conspiracy and attempted possession of cocaine. He was sentenced on Feb. 29 to 124 months in prison.

Additionally, the judge found that Diaz obstructed justice at his trial by denying knowledge of the drugs and claiming he received a package during one of the transactions as a favor to his brother.

"The streets of Chicago are made immeasurably more dangerous because of the drug trade," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Misty N. Wright. "In further aggravation, defendant perjured himself at trial, jeopardizing the integrity of the justice system and demonstrating a willingness to commit further crimes – lying under oath."