Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEWARK, N.J. – A Dominican national was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute and transport bulk quantities of fentanyl into northern New Jersey communities from a drug mill located in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Hector Luiz De La Cruz Nunez, 32, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to a two-count information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In February 2022, Nunez and his co-conspirators operated a private residence, commonly referred to as a drug mill, in which he and his co-conspirators produced large quantities of bulk fentanyl for redistribution. In early March 2022 following a car stop, law enforcement recovered nearly six kilograms of fentanyl packaged in approximately 400 individual bricks concealed within a hidden compartment inside of the vehicle that Nunez was driving.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Nunez to three years of supervised release.
Nunez’s co-conspirators, Emmanuel F. Almonte Mejia, 40, and Loanny F. Duran Hiciano, 37, have both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Mejia and Hiciano await sentencing.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard Patel, HSI Philadelphia, and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation that led to the sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Justin Capek