California Man Pleads Guilty to Shipping Fentanyl to Buffalo: About 2 Kilograms of Fentanyl and 15 Kilograms of Cocaine
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York announced that Fidel Beltran-Torres, 50, of Inglewood, in Los Angeles County, California, pleaded guilty on November 2 in federal court in Buffalo, in Erie County, New York, before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr., to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $10,000,000. Sentencing is scheduled for February 12, 2027.
Between March 23 and April 4, 2025, Beltran-Torres had an arrangement with Brian Smith and Dawnte Dooling of Buffalo to send controlled substances, including fentanyl, from California to addresses in Buffalo provided by Smith, where the drugs were then sold. On March 23, 2025, Smith texted him to send two kilograms of narcotics to Dooling's home address. On April 4, 2025, Dooling was observed leaving his residence with a large box and turning it over to Smith at the corner of Allen Street and Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo; law enforcement seized the box, which contained approximately two kilograms of fentanyl shipped by Beltran-Torres from California.
In addition, between approximately January 2024 and April 2025, Beltran-Torres shipped approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine while working with Smith and Dooling. The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the FBI and the DEA, with the prosecution led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt I. Kass. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于纽约州伊利县 Buffalo 的 Robert H. Jackson 联邦法院大楼航拍全景（资料图），本案在此认罪。照片：Fortunate4now 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Aerial view of the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse in Buffalo, New York (file photo), where the plea was entered. By Fortunate4now, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
