A 26-year-old New Bedford heroin trafficker with a lengthy history of dealing drugs in and around the Whaling City was convicted last week and sentenced to serve five to seven years in state prison, District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Javier Natal pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court last Friday to a single-count indictment charging him with trafficking in heroin.

On February 24, 2015, there was a search warrant executed at this defendant’s home in New Bedford.  The search warrant was granted after the police received information that the defendant was running a heroin distribution service at 912 County Street, Apt 3.

When the defendant was attempting to leave the apartment in his car, he was stopped by New Bedford Police and brought back to the apartment.  Inside, police found 195 grams of heroin in a teddy bear, along with scales, baggies and around $1,500 in cash..

The defendant has been convicted of drug distribution related charges on at least three other occasions and has served multiple stints in jail.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Veenstra and the prison sentence was handed down by Judge Raffi Yessayan.

“This defendant is a repeat drug dealer who has been contributing to the ongoing opiate problem in our communities,” District Attorney Quinn said. “This state prison sentence is appropriate and justified.”

--Bristol County District Attorney's Office

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