Hawkeye Reporter

A Cedar Rapids woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving methamphetamine. Rose Lee Beranek, 43, admitted to conspiring to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine.

According to the plea agreement, Beranek traveled to Arizona in February 2024 and obtained nearly two pounds of methamphetamine. While driving back to Cedar Rapids with the intention of distributing the drugs, she was stopped by law enforcement officers in Oklahoma. Officers searched her vehicle and found the methamphetamine stored in vacuum-sealed bags.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake. The investigation involved several agencies: the Drug Enforcement Administration, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Oklahoma District One Narcotics Task Force. The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which focuses on identifying and dismantling high-level criminal organizations through a multi-agency approach led by prosecutors. More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This prosecution also falls under Operation Take Back America, a national initiative that coordinates resources from the Department of Justice's OCDETFs and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and address violent crime. Details about Operation Take Back America are available at https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline.

Beranek is currently being held by the United States Marshal while awaiting sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. She faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and could receive up to life imprisonment without parole, along with a $10 million fine and a lifetime term of supervised release after any prison time.