PHOENIX MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR IMPORTING OVER 6 KILOGRAMS OF HEROIN

PHOENIX – Miguel Quintero, 23, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow to 240 months in federal prison.  Quintero was convicted by a federal jury on October 20, 2011, of Importation of Heroin and Possession of Heroin With Intent to Distribute. 

The evidence at trial showed that Quintero had more than six kilograms of heroin hidden in the drive shaft of his vehicle when he attempted to enter the United States through the San Luis Port of Entry.  Despite Quintero’s testimony that the heroin was either surreptitiously placed in his car during repairs by a Phoenix-based mechanic, or at the direction of a woman he was dating in Mexico, the jury found him guilty on both counts.  The street value of the heroin was estimated to be $400,000. 

The investigation leading to the guilty verdict was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection. The prosecution was handled by Maria Gutierrez and Christine Keller, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Yuma and Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-11-0773-PHX          
RELEASE NUMBER:   2012-012(Quintero)

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