Kansas City man sentenced to decades in prison for heroin conspiracy and illegal firearms possession

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A 49-year-old Kansas City man has been convicted in federal court of participating in a heroin conspiracy and illegally possessing firearms.

The U.S. Department of Justice said 49-year-old Edgar A. Mejia, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced to 26 years and 10 months in prison without parole.

Mejia was found guilty in March 2024 of one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

In October 2022, officers searched a vehicle belonging to Mejia while he was in custody in Oklahoma following an arrest for drug trafficking. Investigators in Oklahoma contacted local authorities after receiving information that Mejia had additional drugs and weapons hidden in his car.

The vehicle, a camper, was parked next to an abandoned house in the 2300 block of Drury Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. Investigators found 541 grams of heroin, a semi-automatic handgun, an AR-15 style rifle and ammunition.