Kevin Tulla Torres, Cocaine Distribution, Pennsylvania 2023

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A brazen drug trafficking operation in Western Pennsylvania has been dismantled, with two New Castle residents pleading guilty to violating federal narcotics laws.

Kevin Tulla Torres, 28, and Luis Rivera Otero, 37, both of New Castle, pleaded guilty to charges of distributing and conspiring to distribute cocaine, respectively. According to information presented to the Court, Tulla Torres and Rivera Otero managed a drug trafficking operation that sold drugs in the New Castle/Lawrence County area.

The arrests of Tulla Torres, Rivera Otero, and another co-conspirator, as well as 14 others charged by separate Indictment, were the result of a 13-month investigation into drug trafficking in and around Lawrence County.

Members of the group utilized the United States Postal Service to receive drug shipments from a supplier in Puerto Rico. Tulla Torres, Rivera Otero, and others then worked together to sell the cocaine as part of an ongoing criminal drug-trafficking conspiracy within Western Pennsylvania.

Tulla Torres’ actions carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000, or both for the most serious offense. Rivera Otero’s total maximum sentence is not more than 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of each defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation leading to the Indictments in this case in close collaboration with the Lawrence County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Castle City Police Department, Ellwood City Police Department, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, United States Department of Agriculture, Union Township Police Department, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and Pennsylvania State Police.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Lawrence County is one of six western Pennsylvania counties officially designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. The county received its HIDTA designation in July 2022, allowing it to receive dedicated federal resources to coordinate federal, state, and local governments in fighting drug trafficking and abuse.