PROVIDENCE – Two Providence residents pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to trafficking a kilogram of fentanyl-laced heroin to Rhode Island from New York.
Agustin Acevedo, 50, and Dismery Uceta, 43, of Providence, were arrested in April 2016 as they drove to Rhode Island after picking up a kilogram of heroin in the Bronx.
According to court documents and information presented to the court, in March 2016, as part of an ongoing DEA drug trafficking investigation, DEA agents and members of the Rhode Island DEA Drug Task Force determined that on April 29, 2016, Acevedo rented a vehicle in Rhode Island, and that he and Uceta drove to the Bronx, New York. They drove back to Rhode Island early the next day. As the vehicle was returning to Rhode Island, DEA agents, who were conducting surveillance of the vehicle, reported to Rhode Island State Police that the vehicle was traveling on Rte. 95 at speeds of approximately 80 mph. A Rhode Island State Trooper stopped the vehicle on Rte. 95 between exits 5 and 6 for speeding.
A speeding citation was issued to the driver, Agustin Acevedo. During the traffic stop, the trooper observed a brick-like object wrapped in a plastic bag in plain view in an open handbag on the floor of the vehicle.
The occupants of the vehicle consented to a search of the vehicle and Uceta to a search of the handbag. A State Police K-9 gave a positive alert to the area near where the handbag was located. A field test of the brick-like object tested positive for heroin. Acevedo and Uceta were detained by DEA agents who also responded to the traffic stop.
On May 3, 2016, a Warwick Police Department Detective received the kilogram of suspected heroin for further analysis. He later identified the left index finger impression of Acevedo on the outer side of the kilogram wrapping. Forensic testing at the New England Regional Laboratory for DEA revealed that the kilogram of heroin was laced with fentanyl and dipyrone (an analgesic).
At sentencing, Agustin Acevedo faces statutory sentences of 5 – 40 years imprisonment followed by 4 years to lifetime supervised release, and up to a $5,000,000 fine on each charge; Dismery Uceta faces statutory sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment followed by at least 3 years supervised release, and a fine of up to $1,000,000 on each charge.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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