United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WICHITA, KAN. – A California man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Wichita to trafficking in fentanyl and heroin, in a case investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division, along with the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Mauricio Canas, 24, Bermuda Dunes, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation in furtherance of drug trafficking and one count of using a phone in furtherance of drug trafficking. In his plea, he admitted law enforcement officers stopped his car in Thomas County for a traffic violation. In the car, they found more than nine pounds of fentanyl and more than eight pounds of heroin.

Investigators learned Canas was transporting the drugs from California to New York for distribution when he passed through Kansas. He used a phone to communicate with his contacts in New York.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 22. He could face a penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the transportation charge and up to four years and a fine up to $250,000 on the other count.