The leader of a “large-scale Pittsburgh-area drug trafficking organization” was recently sentenced to more than two decades in prison, officials say.
On June 11, 2025, Andrew Beatty was sentenced to twenty-three years of imprisonment and five years of supervised release following his conviction on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Five Kilograms or More of Cocaine and a Kilogram or More of Heroin and Conspiracy to Launder Drug Trafficking Proceeds.
According to TribLive, Beatty will get credit for the more than eleven years he has spent in custody awaiting trial.
Officials say that Beatty was the leader of a drug trafficking organization that obtained kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine from a Mexican drug trafficking organization and distributed those drugs throughout the Pittsburgh area.
According to evidence presented in federal court, Beatty communicated directly with sources of supply based in Mexico who arranged for associates in California to hide heroin and cocaine inside vehicles that were then shipped to Pittsburgh (and several other cities) via commercial car carriers. Beatty and associates would then receive the cars and unload the heroin and cocaine at residences in Pittsburgh. After the drugs were sold, Beatty and associates used the commercial car carriers to transport large money payments to the Mexican organization in California.
An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) news release details how the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) partnered with the Ohio State Highway Patrol to further the investigation into the drug trafficking operation:
“On December 17, 2013, DEA agents arranged for the Ohio Highway Patrol to conduct a traffic stop of a car-carrier truck. The truck was carrying a car that Beatty had shipped to the Mexican organization in California. A search of that car resulted in the seizure of approximately $130,000 in U.S. currency. Following that seizure, Beatty began utilizing a Colombian broker to arrange the services of a personal courier to transport money payments from Beatty to the Mexican organization. Unbeknownst to the defendants, the courier was an undercover DEA agent. On January 12, 2014, and again on February 9, 2014, the undercover DEA agent posing as a money courier, received from Beatty and/or his associates approximately $225,000 (on each occasion).
In the days leading up to March 5, 2014, agents intercepted communications between the source of supply in Mexico and Beatty that revealed a car containing cocaine had been shipped to Pittsburgh and left in a parking lot for Beatty to retrieve. On March 5, 2014, the agents located the car before Beatty had an opportunity to retrieve it. A law enforcement search pursuant to a warrant revealed approximately four kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of heroin hidden in metal containers bolted to the wheels inside the tires.
Search warrants, along with arrest warrants for Beatty and a conspirator, were executed on March 19, 2014. The search warrants led to the seizure of approximately $400,000 in cash, $267,000 of which was found in Beatty’s storage locker. The following day, on March 20, 2014, agents located one of Beatty’s several vehicles parked on a city street. A search warrant for the vehicle was executed, and inside a trap compartment in the door panel agents found approximately 3.5 kilograms of heroin, three firearms, and four cell phones belonging to Beatty.“
Agencies assisting with this investigation include the IRS Criminal Investigation, the DEA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Munhall Police Department, the Scott Township Police Department, and the Baldwin Police Department.
