KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – A Kansas City, Kansas, man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after his role in a large meth trafficking operation was exposed.
Ernest Lucas, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. Investigators say he was a key distributor in a network supplied by sources in Mexico.
How it started
It began in 2022 when Chaz Hicks, 27, was caught selling meth to undercover KCKPD officers, sometimes with a gun sitting in his lap. ATF agents started following Hicks and noticed he kept making trips to Lucas’ home on Ruby Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. From there, they tracked a pattern of activity to a second house on Mersington Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.
What they found
When ATF executed search warrants at both locations, the scope of the operation became clear:
Lucas’ Ruby Avenue home:
- 274 grams of methamphetamine
- 12 firearms and ammunition
- Over $11,000 in cash
Mersington Avenue house:
- Approximately 102 pounds of methamphetamine
- 8 firearms
- Electronic scales and drug paraphernalia
“What began as a case on violence tied to the Southdale Blood Gang grew into a large-scale methamphetamine distribution investigation that wreaked havoc on Kansas City, Kansas,” said Bernard “Butch” Hansen, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Kansas City Field Division. “Ernest Lucas was a prolific distributor supplied by sources in Mexico, moving hundreds of pounds of meth and dozens of firearms through this community, fueling violence and multiple overdose deaths.”
The rest of the network
Lucas’ phone showed drug conversations with Spencer Allen, 48, of Mound City and Jason Smith, 50, of Topeka. A fourth suspect, Abraham Gallegos, 46, of Olathe, was also charged. All three are awaiting sentencing. Hicks received nearly 17 years in prison…