A New London man who routinely traveled to Puerto Rico to purchase cocaine and mail it back to the United States was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 87 months in prison.

Pedro Gil Rivera Ortiz, 50, was among the 100 people charged in 2013 following a joint law enforcement investigation involving the large-scale trafficking of cocaine and heroin into the New London area from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

According to the government, Rivera Ortiz conspired with his nephew, Juan G. Cheverez, known as "Guinchi," and Juan Hernandez, known as "Johnny," to receive kilogram-quantities of cocaine in the mail from Axel Matta Figueroa, known as "Joelito," in Puerto Rico, and then distributed the drug in southeastern Connecticut.

Between November 2012 and through April 2013, Cheverez, Hernandez and Rivera Ortiz routinely traveled to Puerto Rico to meet with Matta Figueroa to purchase cocaine.　

The conspirators often packaged the cocaine at "Gil's house," a property in Barahona Morovis, Puerto Rico, owned by Rivera Ortiz, and then mailed the cocaine to locations in the U.S.

Rivera Ortiz, detained since his arrest on April 3, 2013, pleaded guilty in November 2014 to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

Cheverez, Hernandez and Matta Figueroa also pleaded guilty. On Feb. 18, 2015, Cheverez was sentenced to 77 months of imprisonment and, on Nov. 20, 2014, Matta Figueroa was sentenced to 66 months of imprisonment. Hernandez awaits sentencing.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine; Connecticut State Police; New London Police Department, Norwich Police Department, Waterford Police Department, Groton Town Police Department, East Lyme Police Department and Putnam Police Department.

The United States Marshals Service; ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations; Drug Enforcement Administration; HSI Assistant Attaché, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; HSI Arecibo, Puerto Rico Resident Office; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services; and the Groton City, Willimantic, New Haven and Bristol police departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.

The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah P. Karwan, Alina P. Reynolds and Henry K. Kopel. The state cases are being prosecuted by the State's Attorney for the New London Judicial District and Senior Assistant State's Attorneys Paul Narducci and Stephen Carney.