ALBUQUERQUE – Julia Perez-Vega, 48, a Mexican national from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, made her initial appearance this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a heroin trafficking charge. Perez-Vega remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for March 10, 2017.
Perez-Vega is charged in a criminal complaint with possession of heroin with intent to distribute following her arrest yesterday at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. The DEA arrested Perez-Vega after agents allegedly found approximately 3.6 kilograms (8.064 pounds) of heroin in her baggage during a consensual search.
If convicted on the charge in the criminal complaint, Perez-Vega faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years to a maximum of life in prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Han is prosecuting this case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.