Denisse Munoz-Mora, Heroin Possession with Intent to Distribute, Florida 2019

A 31-year-old Mexican national has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for her role in transporting heroin in 2019.

Denisse Munoz-Mora, a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell on [no specific date] in Orlando, Florida. Munoz-Mora had pleaded guilty on October 25, 2023, to possession with the intent to distribute heroin. Her conspirator, Irving Cepeda-Chico, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2021 to 14 years in federal prison for engaging in distribution of heroin and fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in a drug poisoning death.

According to court documents, Munoz-Mora worked with an individual using a Mexican-based phone number who arranged for Munoz-Mora to supply Cepeda-Chico with heroin. Munoz-Mora communicated with Cepeda-Chico and arranged to deliver 377 grams of heroin to him at a hotel near the Orlando International Airport on August 4, 2019. Munoz-Mora was subsequently detained and admitted that she was paid $3,000 to enter the United States from Mexico, meet an individual in California, receive drugs from that individual, and transport the heroin by concealing it while she flew to Orlando. Munoz-Mora stated that she had done so on at least one prior occasion. After she was indicted and a federal arrest warrant was issued, Munoz Mora was not found and apparently returned to Mexico.

In 2020, on the eve of Cepeda-Chico’s trial, Munoz-Mora emailed representatives of the United States Attorneys’ Office and DEA protesting the fairness of her being charged in the case, although she refused to turn herself in to a port of entry. In 2023, Munoz-Mora was again found crossing the border from Mexico and was arrested on the outstanding federal warrant.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

Munoz-Mora’s exact sentence date is not specified. The 18-month sentence was handed down after she pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute heroin. Irving Cepeda-Chico, her conspirator, received a 14-year prison sentence in 2021 for his role in the heroin trafficking operation.

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