HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that an Aliquippa man was sentenced last week in federal court to 10 years in prison for his role in a criminal organization distributing large quantities of cocaine and heroin in and around Beaver County.

Kijana Lowe, 27, of Aliquippa, previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to deliver and one count of conspiracy. The Office of Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration, in connection with the Beaver County HIDTA Group and the Pennsylvania State Police, conducted the investigation and prosecuted the case jointly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

“I am grateful for the hard work and collaboration between our federal, state, and local partners which led to an upper-level drug trafficker being taken off the streets,” Attorney General Sunday said.

In November 2021, Lowe and several other members of the drug trafficking organization traveled to Allegheny County with nearly $300,000 to purchase 10 kilos of cocaine. Federal, state, and local law enforcement intercepted the exchange and recovered the 10 kilos, the cash, and two bags of heroin. Lowe and five others were charged.

Adelin Hernandez Amparo, 31, of the Dominican Republic, and Anthony Tusweet Smith Jr., 24, of Aliquippa, previously pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges. Amparo was sentenced in federal court to nearly 3½ years in prison, followed by two years of federal supervised release. Smith was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by four years of federal supervised release.

Santos Castro-Mota, 42, of Brooklyn, NY, is currently incarcerated and awaiting trial. Cases are pending against Luis David Paredes Sanchez, 25, of Philadelphia, and Guillermo Alexis Evangelista Estevez, 33; both men have fled.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Kara Cotter and Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna prosecuted the case.