United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Yamil Abreu Navarro was arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on an indictment charging him with international heroin distribution. Abreu Navarro was arrested in the Dominican Republic on an extradition arrest warrant based on an indictment and extradition request from the Eastern District of New York. Abreu Navarro was extradited yesterday to the United States.

Seth D. DuCharme, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division, Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, New York City Police Department, and Keith M. Corlett, Superintendent, New York State Police, announced the extradition and charges.

“As alleged in the indictment, Abreu Navarro betrayed his elected office and the people he represented in the Dominican Republic by directing an international drug trafficking enterprise that imported kilogram quantities of heroin into the United States,” stated Acting United States Attorney DuCharme. “The United States will continue to work with its international partners to dismantle such organizations and prosecute its members regardless of their rank or official status.” Mr. DuCharme extended his grateful appreciation to the DEA’s offices in Santo Domingo, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Department of State, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Government of the Dominican Republic.

“This is another example of the insidious way the Sinaloa cartel has infiltrated people in positions of power to further their drug trafficking networks,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Donovan. “I applaud our law enforcement partners in New York and the Dominican Republic for their stalwart efforts throughout this investigation.”

“This extradition and indictment are the result of an aggressive strategy to stop illegal drug trafficking and keep deadly drugs off our streets. This individual took advantage and abused his public office, using it to bring dangerous drugs to the New York City area. Together, with our partners, we have dismantled a dangerous trafficking operation and stopped the infiltration of a large quantity of narcotics into the United States. We will continue to work vigilantly to put dangerous individuals like this behind bars,” stated NYSP Superintendent Corlett.

According to the indictment and statements made in court, Abreu Navarro held public office as the “Sindico,” or Director, of the Municipal Board for the Padre de Las Casas municipality in the Azua province of the Dominican Republic, and was a former leader of the Modern Revolutionary Party. Between 2016 and 2017, Abreu Navarro allegedly worked directly with Sinaloa cartel members in Mexico who supplied him and his organization with heroin and fentanyl, and he assisted in coordinating the importation and distribution of over 79 kilograms of heroin in New York City and elsewhere in the United States.

The extradition of Abreu Navarro is the result of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, Group T-43, comprising agents and officers of the DEA, NYPD, and NYSP. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Abreu Navarro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro and Genny Ngai are in charge of the prosecution. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs handled the extradition in this matter.

The Defendant:

YAMIL ABREU NAVARRO

Age: 58

Padre de las Casas, Dominican Republic

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-7 (DLI)