What you should know
- Four men are facing charges for allegedly trafficking nearly 5 tons of cocaine hidden in furniture from Puerto Rico to New York City, Connecticut and elsewhere, federal authorities announced Thursday.
- Pedro Guzmán Martínez, Abel Montilla, Jorge Miranda-Sang and Luis Gómez Ortiz are accused of participating in a drug trafficking network that sent approximately 4,500 kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to the continental United States, including to New York, Massachusetts, Florida, and Connecticut, for sale and distribution for a period of approximately 10 months.
- According to the allegations revealed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, the charges stem from alleged actions taken between September 2018 and June 2019.
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NEW YORK – Four men are facing charges for allegedly trafficking nearly 5 tons of cocaine hidden in furniture from Puerto Rico to New York City, Connecticut and elsewhere, federal authorities announced Thursday.
Pedro Guzmán Martínez, Abel Montilla, Jorge Miranda-Sang and Luis Gómez Ortiz are accused of participating in a drug trafficking network that sent approximately 4,500 kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to the continental United States, including to New York, Massachusetts, Florida, and Connecticut, for sale and distribution over a period of approximately 10 months, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) Local Office, John B. DeVito, and Inspector-in-Charge of the United States Office of Postal Inspection for New York City Service (“USPIS”) Philip R. Bartlett, jointly announced Thursday.
The defendants were arrested Thursday morning, with Guzmán Martínez, 47, and Miranda-Sang, 42, arrested in Puerto Rico, Gómez Ortiz, 29, in Florida and Montilla, 48, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Each of them is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Information about the defendants’ lawyers was not immediately known.
According to the allegations revealed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, the charges stem from alleged actions taken between September 2018 and June 2019.
It was during this time that Guzmán Martínez, Montilla, Miranda-Sang and Gómez Ortiz were members of a drug trafficking network that conspired to distribute and possess with the intention of distributing five kilograms and more of cocaine, according to prosecutors.
The defendants allegedly operated the drug trafficking ring by arranging for the shipment of approximately 70 large packages from Puerto Rico to the continental United States. The cocaine was hidden in personalized tables and other furniture, and packages containing the cocaine were represented as furniture on shipping papers. However, the hollowed-out furniture concealed large amounts of cocaine. In total, the drug trafficking network shipped around 4,500 kilograms of cocaine, with an approximate value of $ 144 million.
“These defendants allegedly hid nearly five tons of cocaine in furniture so they could ship it from Puerto Rico to New York City and elsewhere. As alleged, for a time the defendants were able to conceal their cocaine, but were unable to conceal the plan from our law enforcement partners. We will continue to focus on prosecuting illegal drug traffickers on a large scale, “Strauss said.
Meanwhile, Donovan said drug traffickers are finding new ways to smuggle.
“Traffickers have always found new and innovative methods to smuggle drugs into the United States. In this case, they allegedly hid cocaine in hollow furniture, “Donavan said.” This nearly three-year investigation has dismantled an international drug trafficking organization that has allegedly been shipping thousands of kilograms of cocaine, ultimately destined for our communities. “.
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