United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A California woman admitted to a federal judge in Providence, RI, that she participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Rhode Island and that in June of 2022, she distributed over three pounds of crystal methamphetamine and was in possession of over two- and one-half pounds of crystal methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. 

Nora Cecilia Carranza Reyes, 52, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and a charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to information presented to the court, in June 2022, while under law enforcement surveillance, Carranza Reyes and another individual delivered a brown paper bag, later determined by law enforcement to contained over three pounds of crystal methamphetamine, to an individual who traveled to Rhode Island from Maine to retrieve the package. The delivery and pick-up of the meth was allegedly arranged by an individual who, at the time, was incarcerated at a correctional facility in Maine. The drugs were seized in Maine during a traffic stop for a routine traffic violation.

Court-authorized search warrants were executed for Carranza Reyes, a motor vehicle, and the Cranston residence where Carranza Reyes was staying.   Upon executing the warrants, law enforcement officers also searched Carranza Reyes’ own motor vehicle where they discovered over two- and one-half pounds of methamphetamine stashed inside a duffel bag. The vehicle also contained a sophisticated hide within the engine compartment of the vehicle.

Carranza Reyes, a Mexican national, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2024. The defendant’s sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey A. Erickson.

The matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

United States Attorney Cunha thanks the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine for their assistance in this matter.