Illinois Woman Sentenced To Prison For Travelling Interstate To Promote Heroin Trafficking

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Mexican citizen residing in Illinois at the time of her arrest, was sentenced to 11 months in prison today in Scranton by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani for interstate travel in aid of a drug trafficking conspiracy.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Maria Pina, age 44, previously admitted to transporting heroin from Illinois to Pennsylvania in February 2014.

Pina was charged in an Information filed in June 2014. The charge against Pina resulted from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigators, the Pennsylvania State Police, and Berks County Detectives.

Immigration authorities have filed a detainer against Pina, who is subject to deportation proceedings and possible removal from the United States as a result of committing the felony offense.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.