A California man was arrested and charged today in connection with his role in driving into New Jersey with a tractor trailer containing suspected fentanyl and cocaine, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito; Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill; Keith M. Corlett, Acting Superintendent of the New York State Police; and Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations New York, announced.
Officials say Jose Santos Garcia Guzman, 43, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute approximately 53 kilograms of suspected fentanyl and cocaine. He is scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Law enforcement officers arrested Guzman today in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
During an investigation into a drug trafficking organization, law enforcement officers learned that the organization was shipping narcotics from California via tractor trailer. Officers conducted surveillance of a tractor trailer driven by Guzman. While he was in Keasbey, the truck he was driving was stopped by law enforcement officers.
In addition, Guzman provided both oral and written consent to search the tractor trailer, in which law enforcement officers found the suspected fentanyl and cocaine. Law enforcement subsequently field tested the substances; approximately 46 kilograms tested positive for the presence of cocaine, and approximately seven kilograms tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.
The count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life in prison, and a $10 million fine.