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Longtime San Jose union official charged with importing opioids

Nils Wommelsdorf
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Flickr / Creative Commons

Joanne Marian Segovia, who has worked for the San Jose Police Officers' Association for nearly 20 years, is suspected of using her home and office computers -- and even the union's UPS account -- to order and distribute thousands of opioids and other pills, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.

The 64-year-old Segovia is charged with attempting to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue. If convicted, she faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

A criminal complaint was filed Monday, alleging that between October 2015 and January 2023, Segovia had at least 61 shipments mailed to her home, from locations that included Hong Kong, Hungary, India, and Singapore.

The shipments had labels that included "Wedding Party Favors," "Gift Makeup," and "Chocolate and Sweets," federal officials said.

Between July 2019 and January 2023, investigators intercepted five shipments and found thousands of pills of controlled substances. Certain parcels were valued at thousands of dollars' worth of drugs.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.