Dominican National Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Charge

BOSTON - A Dominican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Juan Manuel Tejeda-Serrano, 30, a/k/a Jose R. Narvaez-Arroyo, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including cocaine, before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani. Tejeda-Serrano previously pleaded guilty to a separate federal charge of illegally re-entering the country after having been deported.  Sentencing for today’s plea will occur after Tejeda-Serrano is sentenced on Nov. 16, 2017, for his immigration offense.

In February 2017, Tejeda-Serrano and 12 others were charged in an indictment with conspiring to distribute heroin, fentanyl and cocaine.  The charge stemmed from a six-month wiretap investigation into the drug activities of Jose Antonio Lugo-Guerrero, who was allegedly operating a trafficking organization first in New Bedford, and later in Boston.  On Jan. 3, 2017, Tejeda-Serrano arranged for Lugo-Guerrero to obtain a kilogram of cocaine. And on Jan. 5, 2017, Lugo-Guerrero ordered another two kilograms of cocaine from Tejeda-Serrano, which he attempted to steal, but was unsuccessful.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Tejeda-Serrano is also subject to deportation after serving any sentence that is imposed.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Heinrich of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.