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Heroin Kingpin Sentenced to 145 Months

January 1, 2013 – In a major blow to the heroin trade, Videsh Raghoonanan, a.k.a. ABush,@ 26, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to 145 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to charges that he conspired to distribute cocaine base and more than 100 grams of heroin and possessed firearms in furtherance of that drug distribution conspiracy.

Raghoonanan, who was arrested in December 2012, sold large quantities of controlled substances, including over one kilogram of heroin, during a drug distribution conspiracy that lasted from at least 2011 until his arrest. He obtained primarily heroin, and sometimes cocaine base, in New York City and transported it to Vermont for re-sale at a significant profit.

According to court records, Raghoonanan also obtained handguns from customers in Vermont in exchange for heroin and then transported those firearms back to New York City. On at least two occasions, he carried a handgun while dealing drugs in Vermont.

In determining the sentence, Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss noted the scale of the conspiracy, Raghoonanan’s use of handguns, and the harm that heroin addiction causes the community. She also considered Raghoonanan’s immigration status, as he is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago who was brought to the United States by his parents as a child and never obtained legal authorization to reside in the United States.

Raghoonanan’s associates and co-conspirators have also been convicted of federal offenses. Justin Morrill was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison on a heroin conspiracy charge, while Maria Hunton was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison on a heroin conspiracy charge. Ryan Orvis was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison on a cocaine conspiracy charge, and Patrick Lepore was sentenced to time-served on a cocaine base conspiracy charge.

The case was investigated by the Burlington Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. United States Attorney Tristram J. Coffin commended the efforts of these agencies during this lengthy investigation. Raghoonanan will serve four years of supervised release following his prison term and faces likely deportation to Trinidad and Tobago once he has finished serving his federal prison sentence.

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