The U.S. attorney's office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 27-year-old Shenandoah resident connected to a large-scale heroin trafficking ring that operated in Schuylkill County from 2012 through September 2015 pleaded guiltybefore Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley in Scranton.

According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Nicolai Varga pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. Varga admitted to distributing heroin and transporting other drug traffickers to New York, Patterson, New Jersey and Hazleton to obtain large quantities of heroin on multiple occasions.Varga was involved in transporting and distributing between 400 and 700 grams of heroin, which is equivalent to between than 13,000 and 23,000 retail bags of heroin.Varga was indicted by a federal grand jury in Scranton in September 2015 as a result of an investigation by agents of the FBI, investigators from the Pennsylvania State Police and local police in Schuylkill County.Judge Munley ordered a presentence investigation to be completed, and scheduled sentencing for April 28.Varga faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.Three co-defendants - Rhashean Strange, Carlos Correa and Paul Jadus - have also pleaded guilty to participating in the drug conspiracy. Four other co-defendants are awaiting trial in the case.Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the cases.This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney's Office, the heroin initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.