Mexican Citizen Diaz-Flores Gets 10 Years for Heroin Haul

Jesus Antonio Diaz-Flores, a 37-year-old Mexican citizen traveling through Nevada, was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin. The sentence caps a drug bust that began with a routine traffic stop on I-15 near mile marker 60 in April 2015.

According to court records, Diaz-Flores was pulled over by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper for a traffic violation. After consenting to a vehicle search, a narcotics detection dog alerted officers to hidden contraband. Inside the car, investigators found five tightly wrapped bundles of a brownish-black, tar-like substance stashed in a PVC pipe and concealed within a bean bag chair.

Lab analysis by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the substance as heroin. The total weight: 2494.90 grams—nearly 5.5 pounds of high-potency narcotics destined for distribution. Diaz-Flores admitted he knew the drugs were in his vehicle and acknowledged they were meant for distribution to other traffickers.

Diaz-Flores was charged on April 21, 2015, and after more than a year of legal proceedings, entered a guilty plea on July 11, 2016. Federal prosecutors pushed for a maximum sentence, citing the quantity of the drug and the calculated concealment methods.

“The defendant concealed the heroin in different locations in his vehicle including a bean bag chair. Along with the work of our law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to preventing illegal drugs hitting our streets,” said U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nevada Highway Patrol, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Cushman. Diaz-Flores will serve his full sentence under federal custody, with no early release.