Ivanovich Constanzo Mercedes-Soriano, Heroin Trafficking, Maryland 2023
A 31-year-old Dominican national has been sentenced to over five years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine in Cecil County, Maryland.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett handed down the 63-month prison sentence to Ivanovich Constanzo Mercedes-Soriano, also known as German Pena-Lopez, for his role in a heroin trafficking scheme that stretched from at least June 2017 to September 26, 2018.
According to court documents, Mercedes-Soriano conspired with Elvin Solano-Pena, also known as Joseph Allen Fields, and Herme Soriano, also known as Miguel Urraca-Gonzalez, and others to distribute large quantities of heroin and cocaine to users in Cecil County.
On July 23, 2018, Maryland State Police (MSP) stopped a vehicle driven by Solano-Pena after a drug user reported a suspicious transaction involving a designated phone number, also known as the 'dispatch phone.'
During the stop, MSP recovered 1.4 grams of heroin, 0.4 grams of crack cocaine, and $648 in cash, as well as a crack pipe and burnt cocaine. Solano-Pena provided a false name at the time, but MSP used social media to identify him as the man who sold the drugs.
Mercedes-Soriano and Solano-Pena were both illegal aliens using fraudulently obtained driver's licenses in their respective alias names. On September 6, 2018, both men were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a traffic stop of the black Honda Civic they were driving.
The black Honda Civic was registered in the name of co-defendant Oscar Pilarte-Rivera, a close friend of Mercedes-Soriano, Solano-Pena, and Soriano. Pilarte-Rivera provided assistance to the drug dealers by allowing them to use a car registered in his name, knowing the men were involved in drug trafficking.
Maryland State Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) worked together to bring down the heroin trafficking ring. The case highlights the dangers of illegal immigration and the impact it has on our communities.
Mercedes-Soriano's sentence was announced by Robert K. Hur, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; John Eisert, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Baltimore; and Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Acting Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
Mandatory Facts:
- Defendant: Ivanovich Constanzo Mercedes-Soriano, also known as German Pena-Lopez.
- Criminal Charges: Conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine.
- City and State: Aberdeen, Maryland.
- Exact Date: September 26, 2023.
- Sentence: 63 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release.
- Dollar Amounts: None mentioned.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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