A Cedar Rapids woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving methamphetamine. Rose Lee Beranek, 43, admitted to conspiring to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine.
According to her plea agreement, Beranek traveled to Arizona in February 2024 and obtained nearly two pounds of methamphetamine. She was driving back to Cedar Rapids when law enforcement stopped her vehicle in Oklahoma. Officers searched the car and discovered the drugs packaged in vacuum-sealed bags.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by multiple agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Oklahoma District One Narcotics Task Force. The investigation falls under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, which targets high-level criminal organizations using a coordinated approach involving prosecutors and multiple agencies. More information about OCDETF is available at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This prosecution is also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide effort by the Department of Justice that focuses resources on combating illegal immigration, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. Details on Operation Take Back America can be found at https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline.
Beranek will be sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams after a presentence report is completed. She remains in custody pending sentencing. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment without parole, up to a $10 million fine, and lifetime supervised release following incarceration.
