CAMDEN, N.J. – A California man today admitted shipping approximately 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and conspiring to send an additional five kilograms of fentanyl into New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Federal officials say Isabel Otanez-Sanchez, 26, of San Jacinto, California, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity of fentanyl.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In September 2018, law enforcement officers received information that an individual known as “Pancho,” later identified as Otanez-Sanchez, was shipping large quantities of narcotics to New Jersey from California. On Jan. 28, 2019, Sanchez agreed to send 30 pounds of methamphetamine to a law enforcement confidential source (CS) in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Otanez-Sanchez, along with conspirator Jesus Zavala-Torres, hid 28 packages of methamphetamine inside a salvaged vehicle that was shipped to New Jersey from California.
Agents recovered the 28 packages, totaling approximately 30 pounds, from the car’s gas tank.
On Feb. 12, 2019, the CS met with Sanchez and Torres in Riverside, California.
At this meeting, Otanez-Sanchez and Torres also agreed to sell an additional five kilograms of fentanyl that would be shipped to the CS in New Jersey in the same manner as the methamphetamine.
Following this meeting, Otanez-Sanchez and Torres were arrested by law enforcement and the fentanyl they intended to ship to New Jersey was recovered.
Zavala-Torres previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy.
The conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine.