Federal jury convicts 3 in $28 million drug ring

Two Kansas City, Kan., men are among three people convicted by a federal jury of being part of a $28 million drug trafficking conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom’s office says 36-year-old Marvin Lee Ellis of Kansas City was convicted Friday of eight counts, including seven related to possessing or distributing crack cocaine and one count of maintaining a residence for drug trafficking.

Grissom says 36-year-old Vernon Brown of Kansas City was convicted of one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and crack cocaine, while 40-year-old Robert Vasquez of Socorro, Texas, was convicted of one count of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors say the men were part of a drug trafficking organization the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating in 2010.