An Indiana man has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in South Bend to 292 months in prison after he pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, it was back in May of 2019, when Benjamin Hicks III agreed, with others, to buy methamphetamine in California to bring back to the Midwest for distribution.

Hicks provided the cash while his co-conspirators flew to California, obtained more than 15 kilos of meth, and loaded it into a car.

Hicks stayed in contact with the drivers of the car as they transported the drug across the country, but the car was stopped in Missouri by police who found the drug.

The case was investigated by the DEA with help from Mishawaka Police, the St. Joseph County Drug Investigations Unit, Indiana State Police, and Missouri State Police.