PITTSBURGH, PA — Habys Omar Meran, a native of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking in federal court earlier this week.
Meran admitted to both heroin trafficking and criminal conspiracy charges on Monday, November 20, 2023. The charges were part of a 2016 federal indictment and the plea was entered before United States District Judge Robert J. Colville.
According to court proceedings, Meran was stopped on Route 80 by a Pennsylvania State Trooper specializing in drug interdiction on January 26, 2016. At the time, he was driving a van equipped with a sophisticated, hydraulically activated hidden compartment. Upon inspection, the compartment was found to contain over 4 kilograms of heroin. The seized drugs are estimated to be worth over $2 million when packaged and sold on the street.
Meran’s passenger during the incident, his relative Juan Wilquin Hernandez-Bourdier, was convicted on all charges by a jury in December 2018. He is currently serving a ten-year sentence in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Meran, however, managed to evade initial prosecution by removing his ankle monitor and fleeing the country in November 2017.
The United States Marshal Service launched a fugitive investigation which resulted in Meran’s arrest in the Dominican Republic in 2023. He was subsequently extradited back to the United States under an international treaty agreement with the Dominican Republic.
Meran’s sentencing has been scheduled for April 2, 2024, at 10:00 am. He faces a potential life sentence, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. The court may also impose restitution for the ankle monitor and forfeit the van Meran was driving at the time of his arrest.
Pending sentencing, Meran has been remanded back into federal custody. Assistant United States Attorneys Ross E. Lenhardt and James Wilson are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led the investigation that resulted in the prosecution of both Meran and Hernandez-Bourdier. The Pennsylvania State Police Interdiction Team, the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Lab, the Department of Homeland Security Crime Lab, the United States Marshal Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) provided assistance in the case.
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