A 26-year-old Buffalo man has admitted to his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, officials announced Tuesday.
Jose Alvarez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, butyryl fentanyl, a Schedule I controlled substance, in a federal court in Buffalo.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan T. Cullinane, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant on Alvarez’s vehicle on July 27, 2017, and recovered 20 bags of butyryl fentanyl.
Further investigation led agents to a hotel and casino in Salamanca, where a search warrant was executed in a hotel room, yielding another 196 bags of butyryl fentanyl.
Alvarez also admitted to selling butyryl fentanyl on three prior occasions in Salamanca in May and July of 2017.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the NYS State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force.
Sentencing is scheduled before Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo for January 31, 2019, at 10:30 a.m.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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