Date: November 10, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov San Juan, PR – Vladimir Natera Abreu was sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking by United States District Court Judge Silvia Carreño Coll. Defendant Natera-Abreu was one of the main leaders in the drug trafficking organization known as "Las FARC," (Las FuerzasArmadas Revolucionarias de Cantera). According to court documents, Natera Abreu pleaded guilty on August 9, 2022 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack, heroin, cocaine, marihuana, Oxycodone (commonly known as Percocet) and Alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax), all within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising the Villa Kennedy, Las Casas, El Mirador and Las Margaritas Public Housing Projects, and other areas, and within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds located in the Municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The object of the conspiracy was the large-scale distribution of controlled substances for significant financial gain and profit. The defendant also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of money laundering. The defendant agreed to forfeit to the United States any drug proceeds or substitute assets derived from proceeds generated or traceable to the drug trafficking offense, to include: $75,947,040 in U.S. currency, and the real estate properties as described in Count seven of the indictment. U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico; Joseph González, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, San Juan Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge of the DEA, Denise Foster made the announcement. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB), San Juan Strike Force, were in charge of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alberto López-Rocafort, Joseph L. Russell, R. Vance Eaton, and María L. Montañez-Concepción prosecuted the case. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
