Dominican Man Sentenced to 108 Months for Participating in Heroin Distribution Conspiracy

CONCORD - Geraldo De La Cruz Cabral Pena, 45, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced on Thursday to 108 months in federal prison and a $30,000 fine for 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.  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 previously pleaded guilty on April 1, 2019.  He faces likely removal to the Dominican Republic after serving his sentence.

          “This case demonstrates the international scope of the heroin distribution network that has had such a damaging impact on New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “It also demonstrates that we will not hesitate to reach into foreign countries to extradite criminals who are responsible for shipping illegal drugs into the Granite State.  We will continue to aggressively pursue, prosecute, and incarcerate responsible parties regardless of where they are found.” 

          “DEA is committed to investigating and bringing to justice Drug Trafficking Organizations and individuals like Mr. Cabral Pena who are responsible for distributing lethal drugs like heroin to the citizens of New Hampshire,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “Today’s substantial sentence not only holds Mr. Cabral Pena accountable for his crimes but serves as a warning to those traffickers who are fueling the opioid epidemic with deadly drugs in order to profit and destroy people’s lives.  DEA’s top priority is combatting the opioid epidemic by working with our local, county, state and federal law enforcement partners.”

          This investigation was conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

          The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 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 was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.