Carlos Acosta Estrella, 33, was sentenced to a decade in prison for selling two kilos of cocaine with his mother and having nearly a kilo of heroin in his possession — assets he sought to protect with a high-powered tactical shotgun with a laser sight.
Estrella pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, as well as the same charge for heroin, and a charge of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. He was indicted on the charge with his mother Ana Guadalupe Acosta Grajeda in October 2019. The mother pleaded guilty in September 2021.
According to the complaint, the pair sold the cocaine to a “confidential witness” on Sept. 11, 2019 in an Eastie restaurant.
The DEA provided the fake buyer with $118,000 in “sham DEA currency wrapped in green cellophane,” of which he handed over $60,000 for the two kilos, records state.
A federal jury on Friday found Armani “Shots” Minier-Tejada — who the feds say also goes by “Gustavo” — 23, guilty one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, cocaine, and other controlled substances; and charges of possession of firearms, including a machine gun, to further his gang’s aims.
The young man, a member of the “Tiny Rascal Gangsters,” will serve at least 40 years in prison for his street crimes, the feds say.
Other gang members convicted in the racket — which distributed more than 10 kilos each of fentanyl, meth and cocaine in Boston, the North Shore and Maine and participated in at least shootings — were Jaiir “Chino” Coleman, of Malden, and Phillips “PHON C” Charles.
Coleman was famous for his machine gun and videos that included him brandishing guns and showed his girlfriend, Christina Bernbaum cooking up crack on the stove. Charles also liked to pose with guns in music videos and fire guns as he stalked rivals and their families. He got six years and five months in prison back in September.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations unit removed Luiz Fernando Moreira de Assuncao, 39, a convicted Brazilian murderer, from the area.
“Because of [ERO’s] professionalism and hard work, this dangerous convicted killer is now off our streets and can no longer pose any threat to our safety,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons in a statement. “He will now be held accountable for his crimes in his country because of the outstanding teamwork of ERO Boston officers.”
Moreira entered the U.S. through Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in July 2021, according to ICE. In February of 2023 an ICE operative in Brazil let the Boston field office know that Moreira was a wanted fugitive in the state of Goiania, Brazil, where he had been convicted of homicide and sentenced in December 2018 to serve 19 years and 10 months imprisonment.
Officers arrested Moreira without incident in Quincy on April 25. A judge in the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration review issued a final order of removal on June 8, which ICE performed on June 23.
