Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEWARK, NJ. – A citizen of Mexico previously extradited to the United States today admitted to conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Norma Flores-Fernandez, a/k/a “Norma Camarillo,” 56, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to a Superseding Information charging conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Flores-Fernandez was part of a Guadalajara, Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that distributed kilogram quantities of narcotics, including heroin and cocaine, throughout the United States from in or around March 2018 through in or around December 2019. Flores-Fernandez acknowledged holding a leadership role in this conspiracy.
The charge to which Flores-Fernandez pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison, a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Sheila G. Lyons in Chicago, Illinois and Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark; and special agents of the Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Lafonda Sutton-Burke in Chicago, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked special agents and task force officers with the DEA operating in Lima, Peru and Guadalajara, Mexico; Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago; and officials in Mexico for their assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest of Flores-Fernandez and her extradition to the United States.
This case 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.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Michael Rubas, Esq., Jersey City, NJ