Rodolfo Benjamin Silva, known as the "King of Coke," was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison by a federal court in San Diego for his involvement in distributing large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl across the United States. Silva also facilitated the movement of cartel hitmen into the country.
During the hearing, prosecutors described Silva as a long-time drug distributor based in San Diego who collaborated with Mexican counterparts to receive narcotics from Mexico. According to his plea agreement, Silva provided a courier with 114 pounds of methamphetamine and a kilogram of fentanyl intended for Indianapolis in October 2022. However, this shipment was intercepted in Oklahoma.
Silva admitted to using violence as part of his trafficking activities. Prosecutors revealed that he helped bring assassins known as "sicarios" from Mexico into San Diego for cartel enforcement operations. On one occasion, he hired a sicario who attempted to fatally shoot one of Silva's rivals.
The investigation was led by the FBI and DEA in San Diego with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Indiana and FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Goff is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative which involves multi-agency task force teams working together on intelligence-driven operations targeting significant drug traffickers and transnational criminal organizations.