TRENTON – Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that a major cocaine supplier who led a Camden drug network pleaded guilty today to first-degree racketeering.

Luis Burgos, 34, of Camden, pleaded guilty to first-degree racketeering before Superior Court Judge Michael J. Kassel in Camden.  Burgos was charged as a result of a cooperative investigation, Operation Jumpstart, involving state, county, local and federal authorities.  The investigation determined that Burgos led a drug network that was distributing cocaine in the Camden area.  He was having large quantities of cocaine transported from Puerto Rico to Newark, N.J., and New York on commercial airlines for distribution in Camden.  In pleading guilty, Burgos admitted, among other things, that on April 6, 2011, he sold approximately 10 ounces of cocaine to a cooperating law enforcement witness in Camden.  As a result of the plea, Burgos will face a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, 85 percent of which must be served without possibility of parole under the No Early Release Act.

Deputy Attorney General Kristen Harberg took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. Burgos is scheduled to be sentenced on June 7.  Burgos’ plea is contingent upon four co-defendants also pleading guilty in the case.

“By locking up this ringleader and his associates, we’re cutting off a major source of the drugs that are fueling violence in Camden,” said Attorney General Chiesa.  “We’re working hard to improve the safety and quality of life of Camden residents through these multi-agency narcotics operations, as well as our efforts to interdict gun trafficking and take illegal guns off the street.”

“We will continue to pool our resources across all levels of law enforcement to dismantle interstate and international drug supply rings like the one led by Burgos,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We will take whatever steps are necessary to protect our cities and neighborhoods from dangerous drug gangs.”

Burgos was among 28 defendants indicted in December 2011 by the Division of Criminal Justice.  Operation Jumpstart was conducted by the New Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and other members of the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Joint Camden Task Force, including the Camden City Police Department, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Cherry Hill Police Department, the Evesham Police Department, the Woodbury Police Department and the Air National Guard.

####