Inmate Pleads Guilty To Heroin Trafficking Inside The Metropolitan Correctional Center In Downtown San Diego

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that Kirk Borja pled guilty in federal court in San Diego before United States Magistrate Judge Jan M. Adler to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing heroin with the intent to distribute it.

Borja was originally indicted on the methamphetamine trafficking charge following his arrest in January 2012, as part of “Operation Carnalismo,” an investigation into the Mexican Mafia gang and affiliated associates conducted by the Violent Crime Task Force - Gang Group (VCTF-GG), a group of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Since his arrest, Borja has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), a federal detention facility in downtown San Diego. Borja admitted in his plea to possessing the heroin inside the MCC with the intent to distribute it to other inmates. According to his plea, Borja concealed the heroin inside his body before being discovered by the Bureau of Prison’s Special Investigative Supervisor unit.

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy praised the VCTF-GG for marshaling the evidence of Borja’s methamphetamine trafficking that led to his arrest, as well as the work of the investigators at the MCC and the FBI’s Violent Crime squad who assisted with the investigation inside the detention facility. “This prosecution illustrates our commitment, and that of our law enforcement partners, to protect not only our streets, but our jails as well,” Duffy said. “Dangerous, addictive drugs like methamphetamine and heroin hurt any community that suffers their presence, whether it be a local neighborhood or one of our detention facilities.”

Borja’s plea is subject to final acceptance by United States District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia. Sentencing for Borja was set for Sept 27 at 9 a.m. before Judge Battaglia.

DEFENDANT’S INFORMATION
Case Number: 12CR0291-AJB
Kirk Borja
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841/846 – Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine Maximum penalty: 40 years in prison Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841 – Possession of heroin with the intent to distribute Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation Chula Vista Police Department San Diego County Sheriff's Department National City Police Department San Diego Police Department San Diego County District Attorney's Office U.S. Bureau of Prisons California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation San Diego County Probation Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations