Mexican national sentenced to 11 years in prison for cocaine trafficking in Massachusetts

Yesterday, a Mexican national faced an 11-year sentence in a federal prison after being convicted of drug trafficking for attempting to smuggle a significant amount of cocaine into Massachusetts.

Erasmo Lira-Mendez, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William G. Young. The sentence follows his May conviction for conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy also commended the Littleton Police Department for its cooperation in the case. The heavy narcotics, totaling 20 kilograms, were discovered by authorities during a traffic stop in March 2023, during which Lira-Mendez was pulled over for driving over a double yellow line.

According to the prosecution, GPS data from a tracking device secretly installed by the Cartel del Noreste showed that Lira-Mendez, along with co-defendant Cornelio Hernandez, drove more than 32 hours from Texas to Massachusetts. The drugs were cleverly hidden in the doors of the car. They wanted to expand the cartel’s reach to Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Hernandez pleaded guilty to his role in the drug trafficking conspiracy on April 18, 2024, and awaits sentencing later this month; Lira-Mendez’s saga, a cautionary tale about the ruthless reach of drug cartels, is now at an end for at least the next decade as he faces five years of post-release supervision. The drug-busting saga has once again exposed the intricate plots of distribution networks that weave their webs across state lines like spiders. The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel R. Feldman and K. Nathaniel Yeager of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, was a success for the Justice Department, according to records obtained after the announcement.