A Stockton truck driver has been sentenced to 3-and-a-half years in prison for transporting millions of dollars worth of fentanyl across the country.
Nelson Garcia Martinez, a 40-year-old man originally from El Salvador, appeared in federal court on Wednesday in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Martinez had been promised $6,000 to transport approximately $14 million of fentanyl from California to Massachusetts, officials said. Because of his undocumented status, Martinez will be deported back to El Salvador after completing his sentence.
During the appearance in court, Martinez apologized to the judge, claiming that he did not know the 15 kilograms he was transporting were fentanyl.
The truck driver was first arrested in November 2018 at a Sturbridge truck stop about 30 minutes southwest of Worcester. His attorney reported that this was Martinez’s first run as a drug mule.
