A Mexican national, Erasmo Lira-Mendez, 39, was sentenced in federal court on Thursday for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy. In March 2023, law enforcement seized 20 kilograms of cocaine during a traffic stop, along with a tracking device installed in the vehicle by a Mexican drug cartel.
Lira-Mendez was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 11 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
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In May 2024, a federal jury convicted Lira-Mendez of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, both involving more than five kilograms of the drug. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2023, alongside co-defendant Cornelio Hernandez.
The drug bust occurred on March 29, 2023, in Littleton, Massachusetts, when Lira-Mendez was pulled over for drifting across a double yellow line while driving a car with a temporary Texas license plate.
During the traffic stop, officers discovered 20 kilograms of cocaine in a duffel bag on the back seat. Further investigation revealed that the Cártel del Noreste, a Mexican drug cartel, had installed a private tracking device in the vehicle.
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GPS data showed that Lira-Mendez and Hernandez had driven over 32 hours from Texas to Massachusetts with the cocaine hidden inside the car’s doors, intending to distribute it in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Hernandez pleaded guilty on April 18, 2024, and is scheduled for sentencing on September 24, 2024.
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