Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

 TUCSON, Ariz. – On April 26, 2012, Oscar Ivan Valdes-Espinosa, 37, of Avondale, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Bury to ten years in federal prison. Valdes-Espinosa pleaded guilty on Feb. 16, 2012, to possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.

According to the plea agreement, on March 23, 2011, federal search and arrest warrants were served on Valdes-Espinosa at his residence in Avondale. During the search, federal agents located 2.45 pounds of heroin and 385 grams of methamphetamine in a shoe box kept inside a laundry basket. During the guilty plea proceeding, Valdes-Espinosa admitted that he was going to distribute the narcotics to Las Vegas, Nev.

The investigation in this case was conducted by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, Nogales Police Department, Phoenix Police Department and Avondale Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony E. Maingot, District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-11-1354-TUC-DCB 
RELEASE NUMBER:   2012-109(Valdes-Espinosa)

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/