Arizona Woman Pleads Guilty to Heroin Trafficking in NM

A 28-year-old Phoenix woman walked into a federal courtroom in Albuquerque today and admitted she brought nearly half a kilo of heroin into New Mexico with the intent to sell it. Karla Margarita Pena pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, capping a two-year-old case that began with a DEA interdiction at the Greyhound Bus Station.

On August 12, 2016, Pena arrived in Albuquerque aboard a Greyhound bus when agents intercepted her during a routine drug sweep. Hidden inside a purse, which was stashed in a duffel bag, investigators found 561.90 grams of heroin packed in tight bundles. The bust was part of an ongoing effort by federal authorities to disrupt the flow of narcotics through major transit hubs in the Southwest.

Pena was arrested the same day and formally indicted on August 23, 2016, on charges of possession with intent to distribute. The heroin, valued at tens of thousands of dollars on the street, had the potential to fuel hundreds of opioid addictions across New Mexico, a state ravaged by the national opioid crisis.

At today’s hearing, Pena admitted under oath to transporting the narcotics across state lines, acknowledging the role she played in a larger distribution network. She now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

The case was led by the Albuquerque office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, with prosecution handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley. It falls under the umbrella of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, launched in January 2015 as a joint effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and UNM Health Sciences Center to combat opioid-related deaths and trafficking.

The HOPE Initiative targets traffickers like Pena through a five-pronged strategy: prevention, treatment, law enforcement, reentry, and strategic planning. Its law enforcement arm, led by the Organized Crime Section and the DEA, works alongside local and tribal agencies to dismantle drug networks. More information is available at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

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