Mexican national guilty in Eastie cocaine sting
Tactical shotgun was also found
A Mexican national pleaded guilty to selling 2 kilos of cocaine for $60,000 in a sting that also turned up a high-powered tactical shotgun with a laser sight in her East Boston apartment.
Federal prosecutors said Friday Ana Guadalupe Acosta Grajeda, 58, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Her son, Carlos Acosta Estrella, has an open case.
The feds allege the woman and her son sold the cocaine — although a “confidential witness” was told 4 kilos would be available. The buy occurred outside an Eastie restaurant, the complaint states.
The deal took place on Sept. 11, 2019, with $118,000 in “sham DEA currency wrapped in green cellophane” given to the “confidential witness” — who then handed over $60,000 for the 2 kilos, records state.
The mother and son were followed to a Summer Street apartment in East Boston where the “sham” cash was seen, along with 1 kilo of suspected heroin and another of “a grey substance” believed to be fentanyl or carfentanil, feds report.
Numerous cellphones and the high-powered tactical shotgun with a laser sight, along with a box of ammo, were also reportedly found in the apartment.
While inside, the federal agents working with Boston drug officers “called the telephone number that had been provided by the Mexican supplier to the DEA in Houston (by a) source and a cellular telephone” the son had sounded.
The entire buy began with the tip in Houston and ended in East Boston, the
U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston said.
The complaint states DEA agents in Houston alerted the Boston office that one of their “confidential sources” had been told by a Mexican drug supplier that 4 kilos of cocaine were being offered for sale at $29,500 per kilogram.
That’s when the telephone number of the alleged seller was shared, records add.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of $5 million.
Grajeda’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 14. She remains in custody until then.