Man sentenced to 23 years in prison in Mexico-to-Pittsburgh drug operation
An Allegheny County man has been sentenced to 23 years in prison and five years of supervised release for his role in a large-scale drug scheme that funneled drugs into Pittsburgh from Mexico a decade ago.
Andrew Beatty, 41, formerly of Crafton, was sentenced on charges of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and a kilogram or more of heroin, as well as conspiracy to launder drug trafficking proceeds, Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said.
Investigators said wiretaps were used to connect Beatty to the operation.
'Beatty communicated directly with sources of supply based in Mexico who arranged for associates in California to hide heroin and cocaine inside vehicles that were then shipped to Pittsburgh (and several other cities) via commercial car carriers,' the U.S. Attorney's Office wrote in a media release.
DEA agents arranged for the Ohio Highway Patrol to conduct a traffic stop in December 2013 of a car-carrier truck that was carrying a car Beatty shipped to a Mexican organization. And in 2014, investigators found a cache of hidden drugs inside a vehicle the same group left for Beatty to retrieve, prosecutors said.
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