An investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C, led to an illegal Dominican national receiving 15 years and eight months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin and illegally reentering the United States after a felony conviction.
Gregorio Gustavo DeJesus-Santos, 59, received the lengthy prison sentence on February 27 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond.
According to the ICE HSI Washington, D.C. investigation, on January 18, 2024, a trooper with VSP pulled over DeJesus-Santos on I-85 in Mecklenburg County. During the traffic stop, a police canine was alerted to the odour of narcotics in Dejesus’ vehicle.
VSP searched the car and found a hidden compartment under the passenger seat that extended into the back seat area. The compartment was empty, so VSP released DeJesus-Santos, who travelled to North Carolina.
DeJesus Santos returned to Virginia a short time later, where law enforcement authorities stopped the vehicle for a traffic infraction and, again, a narcotics canine alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.
While searching the vehicle, law enforcement located two packages in the hidden compartment. One of the packages contained 200 grams of fentanyl, and the other contained 293 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin.
DeJesus Santos acknowledged as part of his guilty plea that he obtained and redistributed at least three additional kilograms of fentanyl.
DeJesus Santos had been found to be illegally in the United States and removed on six previous occasions, beginning in 1996 and most recently on October 18, 2022, after his release from prison on a felony drug charge in New York.
