United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BATON ROUGE, La. - Four defendants - two from Baton Rouge and two from California - were sentenced to federal prison terms for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving shipments of heroin from California to Baton Rouge, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley and Acting United States Attorney Corey Amundson. Six other defendants were previously sentenced in this matter.
 
The defendants sentenced (listed below) had been convicted of conspiring to distribute significant amounts of heroin that had been pressed to resemble oxycodone pills. The heroin had been pressed into pills while in California and then shipped into the Baton Rouge area for distribution. By disguising heroin as oxycodone, the traffickers sought the higher street price paid for oxycodone.

“With the sentencing of these individuals, DEA and its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners have taken down an organization responsible for distributing large quantities of heroin purported to be prescription drugs in the Middle District of Louisiana. Heroin is a destructive poison that threatens the health and safety of our communities. We will continue to work together to target criminal organizations to ensure that drug traffickers are held responsible for the harm they cause,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Brad L. Byerley.
 
This heroin-trafficking operation was identified as part of a substantial heroin-trafficking and money laundering conspiracy investigated by DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, with assistance from the Louisiana State Police, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Baton Rouge Police Department.
 
The following defendants were sentenced yesterday for their individual roles in this heroin-trafficking conspiracy:

• Logan Brannon, 32, of Newport Beach, California, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin, distributing heroin, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. His sentence included a period of imprisonment of 10 years and forfeiture of no less than $174,700.
• Aaron Lambert, 34, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin and money laundering. His sentence included a period of imprisonment of six years and forfeiture of $125,700.
• Justin Scott, 34, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin. His sentence included a period of imprisonment of 71 months and forfeiture of $8,304.
• Efrain Barajas, 28, of Hesperia, California, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin. His sentence included a period of imprisonment of 55 months and forfeiture of $9,000.

Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.