Illegal alien pleads guilty to trafficking heroin

GULFPORT, Miss. (WTOK) – An illegal alien who was arrested with enough fentanyl to kill a million people has pleaded guilty in Mississippi to heroin trafficking.

Pablo Vega-Ontanon, 53, of Mexico, who had been living in Georgia, pleaded guilty Friday in Gulfport to possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.

The government says Vega-Ontanon and two co-defendants arrived in Gulfport Nov. 6, 2018, to sell heroin to a confidential informant. They claimed to have ten kilograms of heroin hidden in a compartment of their vehicle. All three were later arrested.

The substance was eventually tested and found to contain nine kilograms of heroin and one kilogram of fentanyl. Officials say that amount of fentanyl can produce one million fatal doses.

Vega-Ontanon was indicted along with co-defendants Eder Ortega- Casarrubias and Eric Estudillo Carrazco.

Vega-Ontanon will be sentenced Sept. 23, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine.

Ortega- Casarrubias pleaded guilty in March and will be sentenced June 26, 2019. Carrazco is awaiting trial.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie.