PHOENIX – This week, Ma de Lourdes Casas-Franco, 45, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced to 36 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan. Casas-Franco had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and money laundering conspiracy.
According to the plea agreement, Casas-Franco worked at a Mexican pharmacy, Sonora’s Desert Pharmacy, from June 2010 through July 2011. On numerous occasions, Casas-Franco arranged to have oxycodone pills, a Schedule II controlled substance, delivered from the pharmacy in Mexico to a customer in the United States. She also arranged to have the part of the purchase price deposited into a bank account in her name maintained in a bank in the United States and part of the purchase price to be deposited into another’s bank account. On at least one occasion, the total value of the order was in excess of $10,000.
The investigation in this case was conducted by agencies participating in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which include, but are not limited to, the Mesa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U. S. Postal Inspection Service. The lead agencies were the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Karen McDonald and Maria Gutierrez, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.