Special Narcotics arrested 5 people involved in Drug Smuggling Operations

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The Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York released a statement that 5 individuals were involved in a sophisticated conspiracy to ship cocaine from Puerto Rico to New York and Massachusetts through the U.S. Postal Service. These 5 individuals were charged with smuggling millions of dollars in cocaine using school binders and children’s lunchboxes. The packages intercepted by investigators amounted to a total of over 30 kilograms of cocaine, amounting to over 66 pounds. 36-years old Carlos Duarte and 41-years old Alexis Garcia are alleged of being the ringleaders of the operation. Moreover, 43-years old Wesley Coddington, 27-years old Raul Sweeney, and 23-years old Bryan Centeno-Rosado were allegedly being involved in the operation.

Duarte was charged as the major trafficker of the operation, while the others are being charged with the sale and possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy. The authorities issued a press release and said that fingerprint analysis linked the individuals charged to the packages. The press release said, “These USPS packages contained a total of eight kilograms of cocaine concealed inside children’s lunchboxes and a zip binder. The lunchboxes bore images of popular cartoon characters”. The drug smuggling operation allegedly ran from May of 2020 through July of 2021. Duarte and Garcia also allegedly worked as managers representing recording artists in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and traveled frequently as part of the operation.

The officials said in the release that US Postal Inspectors identified several hallmarks of packages sent by the individuals, revealing a more extensive pattern with 100 packages shipped dating back to May of 2020. The press release added, “Packages were shipped to residential addresses in New York State, including in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Greene County, as well as to Massachusetts. Often, the named recipients were either fictitious or were actual individuals not associated with the address. Frequently, the return addresses were in New York, despite the packages originating in Puerto Rico. At least two packages bore the return address of a luxury clothing boutique in Upper Manhattan”. The authorities found cocaine and multiple cell phones when officials arrested Duarte at his home in New York.