By: Tracie Carter
A Bergen County man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison after authorities uncovered a large-scale drug trafficking operation that distributed fentanyl between Florida and New Jersey.
According to information sent by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, 35-year-old Plinio Junior Pineda Lopez of Oakland was sentenced on June 26, 2026, to 210 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
The sentence was imposed by Judge Stanley R. Chesler in U.S. District Court in Newark.
Federal prosecutors said Lopez was convicted following a four-day jury trial on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, as well as possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and more than 500 grams of cocaine.
Evidence presented during the case showed that Lopez directed a drug trafficking operation responsible for transporting and distributing large quantities of fentanyl between Florida and New Jersey.
Authorities said the investigation spanned Jacksonville, Miami, and Bergen County before Lopez was arrested on July 11, 2023, in Wallington while attempting to complete a narcotics transaction involving more than one kilogram of fentanyl.
Following his arrest, investigators executed a court-authorized search warrant at Lopez’s residence in Oakland, where they discovered fentanyl and cocaine concealed inside air ducts and household appliances.
Prosecutors said children were present in the home at the time the drugs were being stored.
In total, law enforcement recovered approximately nine kilograms of fentanyl and one kilogram of cocaine during the investigation, according to federal authorities.