Convicted Drug Trafficker Sentenced To 12-To-15 Years

A New Bedford man is sentenced to 12 to 15 years in state prison after being convicted of trafficking in excess of 200 grams of cocaine.

Thirty-five year old Emmanuel Hernandez was sentenced on Friday in Fall River Superior Court.

In December, 2012, postal inspectors in Puerto Rico seized a suspicious package addressed to Hernandez in New Bedford.  It was later found to contain five kilograms of cocaine.

State Troopers assigned to the District Attorney's office were notified.  They replaced most of the cocaine with flour, and had the package delivered.

Prosecutors say Hernandez accepted the package, and later approached a motor vehicle to make an alleged sale.  Police moved in and made the arrest.  Police found more than $23,000 in Hernandez's apartment.

District Attorney Thomas Quinn says the case is an example when mandatory minimum sentences are appropriate.  "This was a defendant who was clearly distributing large amounts of cocaine purely for profit," said Quinn.  "Those individuals who are trafficking large quantities of narcotics," said the DA, " will be targeted, investigated, prosecuted and sentenced to lengthy state prison terms. "