Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Five Years for Federal Heroin Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Victor Sanchez, Jr., 45, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his heroin trafficking conviction. 

On May 28, 2015, Sanchez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Sanchez admitted that on Oct. 28, 2013, deputies of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at his residence where they seized approximately 240 grams of heroin.  Sanchez further admitted that when deputies arrived at his residence, he attempted to flush the heroin down a toilet but deputies entered the bathroom before he could do so.

This case was investigated by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei.

This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico.  The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners.  Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.