A man from Shenandoah was sentenced Monday for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Anthony Navarro-Velez, 34, of Shenandoah, was sentenced on Monday to serve 121 months’ imprisonment by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley,
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Navarro-Velez previously pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy during 2014 and 2015. Navarro-Velez admitted that he and others in the conspiracy distributed between 1 and 3 kilograms of heroin, which is approximately equivalent to between 40,000 and 120,000 retail bags of heroin. The heroin was obtained from suppliers in Paterson, New Jersey, and Hazleton.
Judge Munley also ordered Navarro-Velez to serve five years on supervised release following his prison sentence, and to forfeit firearms and his share of cash seized during the investigation.
Navarro-Velez was indicted by a grand jury in May 2016, as a result of an investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, members of the Pennsylvania State Police, and Shenandoah Police. Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.