Leader of Orlando-based drug trafficking organization pleads guilty to fentanyl distribution

ORLANDO, Fla. — A man described by authorities as the head of a drug trafficking organization based in Orlando is headed to federal prison.

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According to a criminal complaint filed in the Middle District of Florida back in February, Luis Miguel Plaza was already known to the Drug Enforcement Administration as a distributor of fentanyl in the Central Florida area when their investigation began.

According to court documents, the DEA used an undercover agent and confidential informants to conduct multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl from Plaza.

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During two purchases in August 2023 and January 2024, investigators say Plaza sold the agent and informant a total of more than 1,100 pills containing fentanyl and an analog of fentanyl, weighing approximately 115 grams.

The complaint says on Feb. 8 of this year, agents began planning another operation to purchase approximately 7,000 fentanyl pills from Plaza.

Multiple agents watched Plaza as he left his home with another unidentified man for the meeting. However, at one point, investigators say Plaza and the second man clearly realized they were being followed and began to conduct “countersurveillance measures” by executing U-turns and following one of the surveillance cars.

The two eventually returned to Plaza’s apartment but traveled separately to the Mall at Millenia a short time later and made another transaction with one of the informants inside a nearby Panera Bread restaurant.

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After that exchange, the report says a Florida Highway Patrol trooper working with the DEA went into the restaurant with investigators who took Plaza into custody.

Investigators say they seized approximately 890 more grams of fentanyl pills from Plaza during his arrest.

The Department of Justice announced Monday that Plaza has pleaded guilty to distributing and possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.

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A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for November 13.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It’s being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu.

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