| TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Los Angeles man was sentenced to state prison today for his role in a major transcontinental narcotics network that utilized an apartment in Hackensack and a warehouse in Metuchen to conduct its operations. The network was dismantled in 2012 when the New Jersey State Police executed search warrants for a truck and other vehicles at the warehouse in Metuchen and seized 40 kilos of cocaine and over $1 million in cash. The cocaine had a street value of $1.4 million or more.
Carlos R. Marroquin, 52, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 32 years in state prison, including 16 years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Joseph S. Conte in Bergen County. Marroquin was convicted at trial on July 8 by a Bergen County jury of first-degree charges of conspiracy, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and money laundering, among other charges.
Deputy Attorneys General Philip J. Mogavero and Jacqueline Weyand tried the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and handled today’s sentencing hearing. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the New Jersey State Police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration New York/New Jersey Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the Metuchen Police.
Three co-defendants each pleaded guilty in March to first-degree possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and second-degree conspiracy. They are scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 12. Cesar E. Perez, 55, of Metuchen, N.J., Divanis A. Mendoza, 36, of New York, N.Y., and Juan C. Roque, 31, of Los Angeles, Calif., each face a recommended sentence of 10 years in state prison.
“Marroquin and his co-conspirators were shipping million-dollar quantities of cocaine into New Jersey from across the United States, fueling drug dealing, violence and addiction in our communities,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “We shut down their major supply line of narcotics, and we’ve ensured that they will be behind bars for a very long time.”
“This seizure by the State Police of 40 kilos of cocaine and over $1 million in cash shows that major drug traffickers were reaping massive profits and moving tremendous quantities of narcotics into our state,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “This was an outstanding bust, which has resulted in the convictions and lengthy imprisonment of all four defendants.”
“Marroquin and his associates were responsible for the flow of millions of dollars worth of cocaine into New Jersey communities,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our detectives, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the Office of the Attorney General, this major drug trafficking ring is dismantled and its members will be off the streets for a long time.”
As a result of the investigation, State Police detectives identified a warehouse at 335 High Street in Metuchen which the four men were using as a shipping terminal for large loads of narcotics arriving in commercial vehicles. On July 24, 2012, detectives were conducting surveillance and observed a Freightliner tractor enter the warehouse through a bay door, which closed behind the truck. When the Freightliner began to back out of the bay about half an hour later, detectives moved in, identified themselves and secured the site. All four defendants were at the warehouse and were arrested.
The State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice obtained search warrants for the Freightliner and five other vehicles at the location. State Police detectives found 33 bundles of cellophane-wrapped U.S. currency totaling $1,053,500 concealed within a false fuel tank of the Freightliner. They seized 20 kilograms of cocaine from an electronically activated hidden compartment in the rear of a silver Saturn Vue, and an additional 20 kilos of cocaine from a similar compartment in the rear of a black Saturn Vue. The search of a Ford Excursion revealed an empty hidden compartment. Detectives also executed a search warrant at an apartment on Gardner Place in Hackensack that was rented by Perez. There they seized three bundles of U.S. currency totaling $31,400.
Deputy Attorney General Mogavero presented the case to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. The investigation was led by the New Jersey State Police Drug Trafficking North Unit. Acting Attorney General Hoffman thanked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration New York/New Jersey Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Metuchen Police Department for their valuable assistance.
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