Borough man pleads guilty for role in heroin trafficking
By Kaylee Lindenmuth | [email protected]
SHENANDOAH – A Shenandoah man pleaded guilty last week for his role in a conspiracy to distribute between one and three kilograms of heroin, which authorities say equals between 40,000 and 120,000 retail bags of the drug.
Anthony Navarro-Velez, 33, of Shenandoah, can face up to life in prison, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, when his sentence is handed down in September.
U.S. Attorney David J. Freed said in a media release Navarro-Velez admitted to participating in a conspiracy during 2014 and 2015 where he and others distributed between one and three kilograms of heroin, or 40,000 to 120,000 retail bags of the drug.
The case was investigated by the FBI, PA State Police, and borough police.
A pre-sentence investigation has been ordered, and sentencing is set for September 9 of this year.
The case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods and a “district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin,” authorities said.
“Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses,” the attorney’s office said in a media release.
The maximum penalty Navarro-Velez can face is life imprisonment, and the mandatory minimum sentence is 10 years in prison, the office said.
About Author
