Man Sentenced In Concord For International Drug Trafficking

CONCORD, NH — A 45-year-old man from the Dominican Republic was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiring to distribute heroin in U.S. District Court in April 2019.

Geraldo De La Cruz Cabral Pena, 45, has been sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and will be required to pay a $30,000 fine, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray said Friday in a news release.

Murray said Cabral Pena's distribution continued from 2013 to 2016 and had connections to Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

The release states multiple kilograms of heroin were smuggled into the United States from Mexico. Cabral Pena then transported the drugs and made distributions to drug trafficking groups from Texas to Massachusetts.

In Massachusetts, drugs were then taken to distributors across northern New England, including in New Hampshire. The man also smuggled large amounts of cash from regional drug trafficking groups.

The man was arrested in March 2018 in the Dominican Republic and extradited to the United States to face charges. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.

Murray said after serving his sentence in the U.S., Cabral Pena is likely to be deported to the Dominican Republic.

“This case demonstrates the international scope of the heroin distribution network that has had such a damaging impact on New Hampshire,” Murray said in a statement. “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.”

The case was investigated by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle. Also helping involved in the investigation were the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Marshals Service.

On a more local level, the investigation was handled by the Massachusetts State Police; the Haverhill Police Department; ; 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.

“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,” Boyle said. “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 combating the opioid epidemic by working with our local, county, state and federal law enforcement partners.”

Organizations like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Drug Helpline provide free, confidential 24/7 resources for persons dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. The SAMHSA helpline can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or online. The National Drug Helpline can be reached at (844) 289-0879 or online.