Man previously deported pleads guilty to drug charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Guatemalan man who had been deported from the U.S. in 2004 has pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the country and then selling a kilogram of heroin while here.

Federal prosecutors say 42-year-old Eduardo Alvarez-Gamez, of Providence, was arrested in February after selling “significant quantities of heroin” twice within a four-hour period.

Both transactions occurred while Alvarez-Gamez was under surveillance by members of law enforcement investigating his drug trafficking activities.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday to entry into the U.S. after removal and distribution of 100 grams or more of heroin.

Alvarez-Gamez is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20. Illegal re-entry is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Distribution of more than 100 grams of heroin is punishable by up to 40 years in prison.