Hazleton Man Sentenced To More Than Seven Years In Prison For Pill Distribution Conspiracy

SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Franklin Tejeda, age 36, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on August 31, 2017, to 87 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, for his role in an international pill distribution conspiracy.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Tejeda was responsible for importing into the United States and distributing hundreds of thousands of Schedule II and IV drugs, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, Percocet, Tramadol, Diazepam, Xanex, and other prescription medications.

Tejeda previously pleaded guilty to regularly orchestrating the delivery of parcels of Schedule II and IV pills from suppliers in India and the Dominican Republic to co-conspirators’ residences in Hazleton, and distributing the drugs to customers. The illegal conduct occurred between November 2014 and March 2016. Agents and police seized more than one hundred thousand Schedule II and IV pills and tablets from Tejeda’s residence in March 2016.

Judge Mannion also ordered Tejeda to serve three years on supervised release following his prison sentence.

Tejeda was charged in a criminal information filed by the United States Attorney’s Office in April 2016. The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Hazleton Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

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