HEROIN TRAFFICKING RING TAKEN DOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA

A North Carolina court has sentenced Alberto Gasca, 31, of Los Angeles, California, to 128 months in prison and five years of supervised release on drug trafficking charges.

Gasca pleaded guilty in February 2015 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose made the announcement, joined by Daniel R. Salter, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

According to court records, Gasca was a major drug distributor based in California, responsible for smuggling bulk drug shipments from Mexico. His transportation network of couriers trafficked heroin and other drugs, including methamphetamine, from Los Angeles to distribution cells throughout the United States, including the Charlotte area.

A total of $108,000 in cash was seized from Gasca’s residence at the time of his arrest in September 2014, along with drug scales, plastic packaging, kilogram wrappers, two kilograms of heroin, and more than five ounces of methamphetamine. A ledger was also found. The investigation has resulted in the seizure of approximately 50 pounds of heroin and approximately $170,000 identified as drug proceeds.

Gasca’s prosecution is part of an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking of heroin from Mexico. Six other conspirators have been sentenced to date in connection with this investigation. Hector Manuel Castaneda Gastelo and Yolanda Gonzalez were each sentenced to 20 years in prison; Marcelino Rivera Vorquez was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison; Fernando Hernandez was sentenced to 7.25 years in prison; and Benjamin Villanueva Estrada was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. Another conspirator, Omar Kamirez Lizama, is awaiting sentencing.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations.

The case was investigated by the DEA in Charlotte. U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the Ontario, California Police Department and the DEA’s Office in Los Angeles for their assistance with this investigation.

Gasca is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Greene of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is handling the prosecution.

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