A Mexican national is now facing a potential life sentence after a federal jury in Boston found him guilty for his role in a massive cocaine trafficking operation. Erasmo Lira-Mendez, the 39-year-old defendant, was nabbed with a whopping 20 kilograms of cocaine in Littleton, Massachusetts, as reported the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The hard hit to the drug trade came after Lira-Mendez was pulled over by cops for swerving his car with a temporary Texas license plate across the lines of the road. The substantial find, located in a duffle bag on the back seat of the car he drove, signifies his part in a complex distribution network. Lira-Mendez's indictment came in May 2023 and was tied to Cornelio Hernandez, who had pleaded guilty earlier this month, Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said.

In a detail that reads like a plot twist from a spy thriller, but is all too real, the vehicle Lira-Mendez used had been tracked by a private device installed by the trafficking ring Cártel del Noreste. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, GPS data showed that the delivery route stretched over 30 hours from Texas to Massachusetts to deliver the narcotics to Lawrence.

Sentencing for Lira-Mendez is set for September 4, 2024, with Hernandez's date marked on the calendar for July 23, 2024. Both face a minimum of a decade behind bars, and possibly life. The conviction underscores the "devastation wrought by drug trafficking," said Levy in an announcement that exhibited the combined muscle of federal, state, and local law enforcement. The DEA, represented by "Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division," echoed the sentiment, emphasizing their resolve to rid the streets of the drug menace, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The collaboration also involved groundwork by the Littleton Police Department, whose alert officers initiated the traffic stop that led to the bust. Names to note in the prosecution are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel R. Feldman and K. Nathaniel Yeager, who are part of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit. The charges against Lira-Mendez and Hernandez could also weigh heavily on their right to remain in the country, with deportation proceedings on the cards post-sentencing.