A Franklin County couple will spend the next decade in prison on cocaine and gun crimes, according to a federal sentencing issued Tuesday morning.
Laura Reyes Esquivel and Mario Gamino Sanchez, residents of Northgate in north Columbus, were detained in June 2025 after officers from the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force got information about a cocaine transaction, according to federal authorities.
Esquivel and Sanchez apparently arranged with an undercover agent posing as a potential buyer based on the tip, and the parties agreed to acquire two kilograms of cocaine for $70,000.
The couple, driving a Range Rover, was stopped by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office on U.S. 40 East when a narcotics K9 detected a drug odor in the vehicle. Deputies recovered two blocks of suspected cocaine (2.29 kg) in the back seat, along with a loaded black pistol in the glovebox.
The suspects were transferred to ICE Columbus for interviews, and an examination of Homeland Security records indicated that the couple were Mexican citizens.
Sanchez and Esquivel pled guilty in December and April, respectively, to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a handgun in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
On Tuesday, each were sentenced to ten years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
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