Peter Anthony C. Santos Sentenced to Prison in Ice Trafficking Case

          Today, SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant PETER ANTHONY CONCEPCION SANTOS, age 44, was sentenced in District Court to a 63-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service. The Court also ordered SANTOS to pay a mandatory $100 assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          November 18, 2015, SANTOS was charged by Superseding Indictment with Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine Hydrochloride and Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine Hydrochloride. On February 23, 2016, SANTOS entered a guilty plea to an Information charging him with Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The United States also sought forfeiture of related assets under federal law. The investigation revealed that SANTOS, and others, agreed to use the mail system to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine on Guam. Law enforcement seized approximately 4.5 kilo grams of methamphetamine, with a 99 percent purity level. Officers also discovered $2,772 during a search incident to the arrest of SANTOS. SANTOS testified at trial against his co-defendant Justin Cruz. Cruz was sentenced on March 22, 2017, to 35 years imprisonment for Conspiracy to Distribute methamphetamine.

          The investigation was pursued by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a specialized multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement team effort. OCDETF investigates and prosecutes the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

          This OCDETF investigation involved federal agents and local law enforcement officers of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Guam Police Department (GPD), Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency (GCQA), Superior Court of Guam Probation Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), U.S. National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service (CGIS). The case was prosecuted by Clyde Lemons, Jr., an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.