Three Individuals Sentened in Scheme to Smuggle Heroin into State Prison

WASHINGTON—A former correctional officer, a correctional nurse, and an associate of another former correctional officer were sentenced today in the District of Puerto Rico for attempting to smuggle and deliver heroin into Bayamón State Penitentiary.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico made the announcement.
Former correctional officer Angel López-Reverón, 39, of Hatillo, Puerto Rico, and former correctional nurse Victoria Rivera, 49, of Corozal, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty on November 20, 2013, to a one-count indictment charging them separately with attempt to distribute a controlled substance. Lopez and Rivera were each sentenced to serve 37 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Francisco A. Besosa.
López-Reverón was paid $1,000 to provide a package of heroin to an inmate at the Bayamón State Penitentiary, where López-Reverón worked as a correctional officer. On September 15, 2010, López-Reverón met with an undercover agent, whom he believed was a drug dealer, and was given what he believed to be a package of heroin. He delivered the purported heroin to an inmate in the prison that same day.
Separately, Rivera was also paid $1,000 to provide package of heroin to an inmate at the Bayamón State Penitentiary, where Rivera worked as a nurse. On July 1, 2010, Rivera met with an undercover agent, whom she believed was a drug dealer, and was given what she believed to be a package of heroin. She delivered the purported heroin to an inmate in the prison that same day.
Antonio Román-Medina, 39, of Isabela, Puerto Rico, was also sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Carmen C. Cerezo. He pleaded guilty on December 17, 2013, to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Román-Medina and a co-conspirator, William Joel Medina, were paid $4,000 to deliver a package of heroin to an inmate at the Medical Center in San Juan. On September 9, 2009, Román-Medina and Medina met with an undercover agent, whom they believed was a drug dealer, and were given what they believed to be a package of heroin. Román-Medina delivered the purported heroin to the inmate that same day.
William Joel Medina, a former correctional officer with the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison for the same scheme.
The cases were investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division. The cases were prosecuted by Trial Attorney Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hector Ramírez-Carbó and Justin R. Martin of the District of Puerto Rico.

Former Puerto Rico Correctional Officer Sentenced in Scheme to Smuggle Heroin into State Prison

A former correctional officer at the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison for attempting to smuggle heroin into the prison where he worked, Bayamón State Penitentiary, in exchange for a $3,000 payment.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico made the announcement.
Luis Lebron-Lebron, 38, of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty on October 29, 2013, to a one-count indictment charging him with attempt to distribute a controlled substance. Lebron-Lebron was sentenced by U.S. District Judge José A. Fusté .
On September 9 and 10, 2010, Lebron agreed to introduce 1/8 of a kilogram of heroin to an inmate at the Bayamón State Penitentiary, where Lebron worked as a correctional officer. Lebron was paid $3,000 to make that delivery. On September 10, 2010, Lebron met with an undercover agent whom he believed was a drug dealer and was given what he believed to be 1/8 of a kilogram of heroin. He delivered the purported heroin to an inmate in the prison that same day.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hector Ramirez-Carbó of the District of Puerto Rico.

Berlin supermarkets receive banana boxes stuffed with cocaine

Boxes filled with bananas and cocaine were delivered to five Berlin supermarkets in what police on Tuesday called a "logistical error" by drug smugglers.

Supermarket staff discovered the containers with a total of 140 kg (around 300 pounds) of cocaine on Monday shortly before the fruit went on sale to the public, police and customs investigators said.

It was the largest discovery of cocaine in Germany's capital in about 15 years and has an estimated black market value of around $8 million, according to police.

"We were of course surprised," senior police officer Olaf Schremm, who heads the local drug investigation department, told reporters. "I don't know where the mistake was in the perpetrators' delivery chain."

The banana cartons, part of a consignment of 1,134 boxes, were brought by ship from Colombia to Hamburg and delivered to a fruit wholesaler in Berlin. Cocaine was found in seven of them, Schremm said.

The boxes were eventually delivered to five supermarkets in the Berlin area, but investigators said the intended destination of the cocaine was unclear.

Masked officers in bulletproof vests showed the seized boxes to media. The cocaine will be stored and eventually destroyed.

Drugs are often smuggled in container ships from South America to Europe, the police said, adding that it is very difficult to keep track of thousands of containers which are stored in the port of Hamburg for only a short time.

"At the end of the day, it's beyond one's control," Schremm said.

German authorities say drug smugglers use air mail or couriers to import cocaine more often than ships. In 2012, investigators seized 1.26 metric tons of cocaine in total.