Wilkes-Barre Man Sentenced To Over Seven Years’ Imprisonment For Drug Trafficking

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that District Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced Luis Enrique Martinez-Ortiz, age 27, of Wilkes-Barre, to 87 months’ imprisonment on October 16, 2019, for his role in a heroin, cocaine, and crack trafficking organization.        

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Martinez-Ortiz, also known as “Chino,” pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, powder cocaine, and cocaine base, or “crack.”  Martinez-Ortiz admitted responsibility for more than 100 grams of heroin, more than 500 grams of cocaine, and more than 28 grams of crack  (100 grams of heroin is the equivalent of approximately 4,000 individual doses of heroin).  The sentence was enhanced because the Court found that Martinez-Ortiz was either aware that a co-conspirator possessed a firearm or possessed a firearm himself, and because he maintained a premises, an apartment in Avoca, for the purposes of manufacturing or distributing controlled substances.        

This indictment was the result of a year-long investigation, in part driven by multiple wiretaps, conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Wilkes-Barre Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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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