An Los Angeles County man who ran a “drug version of DoorDash” delivery service, offering cocaine and painkillers laced with fentanyl for delivery, leading to the deaths of two customers from drug overdose, was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Thursday.
According to a report from a local news agency, the U.S. Department of Justice said that 37-year-old Erick Estrada operated an illegal drug delivery network inside a gated community in Calabasas.
Estrada pleaded guilty last October in two cases in the Los Angeles federal court. In the first case, he admitted to conspiring to distribute drugs resulting in death, while in the second case, he confessed to selling fentanyl resulting in death.
The court also ordered him to pay a total of $43,145 in restitution to the victims’ families.
Federal prosecutors stated in sentencing documents that Estrada “as the organizer and leader of the entire drug trafficking network, directed a delivery network of drivers and drug runners from his mansion in Calabasas, profiting millions of dollars from it.”
Prosecutors said that two victims died directly from the fake Oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl sold by the defendant.
The Department of Justice indicated that a man identified as C.N. died on June 9, 2022, after consuming the pills delivered by Estrada’s service, and nine months later, a woman identified as S.M. also died from ingesting similar drugs.
According to the indictment on 18 charges, Estrada obtained cocaine and pills containing actual fentanyl, disguised as Oxycodone, and then had them transported by a delivery driver network to buyers in San Fernando Valley and Ventura County or other drug dealers.
Estrada’s defense lawyer, Meghan Blanco, stated in court documents, “The core issue of this case is unmistakable. Estrada created this business, failed to cease operations after counterfeit fentanyl drugs entered the market, continued to profit even after stepping back from daily management, and failed to fully shut down the business before more people were harmed. These omissions warrant a severe sentence.”
Estrada’s 39-year-old wife, Zoila Estrada, was also one of the six defendants indicted in November 2023 and later admitted to money laundering charges.
The indictment indicated that the couple laundered drug proceeds through bank accounts of shell companies and used the funds for various personal expenses, including purchasing luxury cars like Lamborghini and Land Rover.
The head of the Los Angeles division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Anthony Chrysanthis, stated that the harm caused by Estrada is immeasurable. Families and friends of the victims endure immense grief every day, and he hopes that the 27-year harsh sentence will bring some measure of solace and comfort to the victims’ families.
One of Estrada’s associates, 37-year-old Gilberto Marquez from Woodland Hills, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute drugs and was sentenced to over 5 years in prison in February this year.
Another involved member, 37-year-old Arian Alani from Burbank, admitted to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and is still awaiting court sentencing.