HOUSTON — A Houston woman will spend more than a decade behind bars for importing enough fentanyl to kill two million people.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana sentenced Monica Mata Vasquez, 49, to 136 months in federal prison.
“It takes only a tiny amount of fentanyl to kill a loved one. Vasquez brought in 4.6 kilos of that dangerous drug from Mexico--enough to kill approximately 2 million people,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said.
Vasquez was arrested at a border checkpoint last March while trying to cross into Laredo. Border agents questioned her travel itinerary and then noticed her car battery looked suspicious. They removed it and found four bundles of fentanyl hidden inside.
During her trial, jurors saw text messages about Vasquez buying car batteries during multiple trips to Mexico dating back to July 2022.
“She routinely travelled to Monterrey, Mexico, to pick up narcotics and did it all for money. She prioritized her greed over the well-being of our community," Hamdani said. "Today’s sentence takes a callous drug transporter off the streets and away from the border and guarantees that Vasquez will no longer profit from the pervasive destruction of fentanyl.”
The defense tried to convince the jury that Vasquez didn't know the drugs were inside the car but they didn't buy it. It took them less than an hour to convict her of engaging in a conspiracy to import fentanyl.
“Illicit fentanyl is one of the greatest dangers we’re facing as a country,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio. “The conviction and sentencing of Vasquez highlights the strength of our law enforcement partnerships who spend countless hours combating a poison that is harmful to many communities and families."
HSI conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
