Commercial Truck Driver Sentenced to Over Two Years in Prison for Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Mexican man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. 

Gerardo Madrigal Quintero, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 29 months in prison and two years of supervised release. On July 11, 2023, Quintero pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. 

In August 2022, an investigation began into a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico that was seeking to set up a cocaine distribution network in the Boston area. The investigation subsequently identified Quintero’s co-defendant, Joel Enrique Armenta Castro, as a member of the organization who came to Boston to facilitate the distribution of multiple kilograms of cocaine. In August 2022, Quintero transported 15 kilograms of cocaine from California to Massachusetts in the back of his tractor trailer. On Aug. 29, 2022, Quintero provided Castro with the cocaine at service plaza on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Ludlow.

On Sept. 28, 2023, Castro was sentenced to four years in prison and two years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea E. Porter of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.