A Texas man was sentenced to 64 months in prison by a United States district judge on Thursday for his involvement with a marijuana and cocaine distribution ring in Austin.

Judge Donovan Frank sentenced Ramon Olivares, 28, of Mission, Texas, in a St. Paul courtroom on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Olivares, the sixth and final defendant in the case, was indicted in November 2008 and pleaded guilty in May 2009.

In his plea agreement, Olivares admitted that from May 2007 through Dec. 5, 2007, he conspired with his co-defendants to distribute marijuana and at least 5 kilograms of cocaine in the Austin area. Specifically, Olivares aided co-defendant Vedran Pejic, 24, of Austin, in acquiring multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine in Texas and transporting the drug to Minnesota for distribution. Olivares admitted arranging the installation of a concealed compartment in one of Pejic’s vehicles as well as packaging and concealing the drugs.

In all, Olivares admitted responsibility for distributing more than 15 kilograms of cocaine.

“Working with several law enforcement agencies, we were able to … gather sufficient evidence that led to the convictions of those responsible for distributing large amounts of cocaine and marijuana. This investigation followed the source of the illegal drug shipments from Minnesota to Texas,” said Stephen A. Luzinski, a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge of the case, in a press release.

Olivares’s five co-defendants already have been sentenced, each on one count of

conspiracy. Pejic was sentenced to 198 months in prison by Judge Frank in June 2008. That same month, Judge Frank sentenced Susana Mota-Trejo, 32, of Austin, to 76 months in prison.

A third Austin resident, 27-year-old Ricardo Raul Saucedo, was sentenced to 76 months in prison in February 2009.

Two Rochester men were also sentenced in connection with the case.