Former Puerto Rico Correctional Officer Sentenced in Scheme to Smuggle Heroin into State Prison

A former correctional officer at the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison for attempting to smuggle heroin into the prison where he worked, Bayamón State Penitentiary, in exchange for a $3,000 payment.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico made the announcement.

Luis Lebron-Lebron, 38, of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty on October 29, 2013, to a one-count indictment charging him with attempt to distribute a controlled substance. Lebron-Lebron was sentenced by U.S. District Judge José A. Fusté .

On September 9 and 10, 2010, Lebron agreed to introduce 1/8 of a kilogram of heroin to an inmate at the Bayamón State Penitentiary, where Lebron worked as a correctional officer. Lebron was paid $3,000 to make that delivery. On September 10, 2010, Lebron met with an undercover agent whom he believed was a drug dealer and was given what he believed to be 1/8 of a kilogram of heroin. He delivered the purported heroin to an inmate in the prison that same day.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hector Ramirez-Carbó of the District of Puerto Rico.