Maria Guadalupe Martinez-Plascencia, Heroin Possession, New York 2018

Two Mexican nationals have been brought to justice for their role in a heroin trafficking operation in New York.

Maria Guadalupe Martinez-Plascencia, 48, of Guadalajara, Mexico, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin before Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny in the Western District of New York.

The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $5,000,000 fine.

Claudia Anel Cuevas-Sandoval, 38, also of Guadalajara, Mexico, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine.

The investigation into the duo began in early June 2018, when the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police started looking into the activities of Martinez, who was associated with an individual arrested on May 26, 2018, in Laredo, Texas.

The individual was in possession of a backpack and a laptop bag that concealed heroin, and Martinez was identified in a Customs and Border Protection report as someone who should be inspected during any border crossing.

On June 9, 2018, the NFTA identified Martinez and Cuevas traveling together, and the duo purchased tickets for a Greyhound bus departing from Philadelphia, PA, late in the evening of June 9, 2018, and arriving in Buffalo on June 10, 2018.

Law enforcement officers surveilled them at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo Hotel in downtown Buffalo, and on the evening of June 11, 2018, officers executed a New York State search warrant in the room the defendants were staying in.

During the search, officers found two backpacks and two laptop bags in plain view, which were heavy but contained no visible contents. Sewn into the baggage were 10 packages containing heroin, and Martinez and Cuevas were arrested at that time.

Related Federal Cases