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Talent show winner sentenced in Dominican drug-trafficking case

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – A court in the Dominican Republic has sentenced the winner of a Latin American TV talent show to seven years in prison after she pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin.

Singer Martha Heredia was accused last year of stuffing 2.9 pounds (1.3 kilograms) of heroin into the heels of three pairs of platform shoes. She was arrested in February 2013 as she prepared to board a flight to New York.

Heredia said during her sentencing Tuesday that she made a mistake and wants to change.

A panel of three judges also ordered Heredia to pay a $2,300 penalty.

The 23-year-old became a winner of the show “Latin American Idol” in 2009 and received a national youth award in the Dominican Republic.

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