CONCORD - Geraldo De La Cruz Cabral Pena, 43, of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday to conspiring to distribute heroin, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2013 to 2016, Cabral Pena facilitated an international heroin distribution conspiracy with connections to Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. Multi-kilogram loads of heroin were smuggled into the United States from Mexico, and Cabral Pena then facilitated deliveries of the heroin to numerous regional drug trafficking organizations along a route from Texas to Massachusetts. Heroin arriving in Lawrence, Massachusetts would then be distributed by a local drug trafficking organization to sub-distributors in New Hampshire and the rest of northern New England. Cabral Pena also collected payment from the regional drug trafficking organizations through multiple means including bulk cash smuggling. Pena was arrested by Dominican Republic authorities in March 2018 at the request of the United States government, and he was extradited to the United States to face these charges on August 16, 2018.

Cabral Pena is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22, 2019.

“International drug trafficking organizations have brought large quantities of heroin and other drugs into New England, causing untold damage to the citizens of New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “This case is an example of the law enforcement community’s effort to target the larger distribution networks that have supplied heroin to drug traffickers in the Granite State. We will not be deterred by state or international borders in our efforts to hold drug traffickers responsible for their crimes.”

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; Homeland Security Investigations; the Massachusetts State Police; the Haverhill Police Department; the United States Marshals Service; the New Hampshire State Police; the Manchester Police Department; the Lawrence Police Department; the Lowell Police Department, the Methuen Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Drug Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarad E. Hodes.

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