Kilos of the drug were shipped to the New York area, authorities say
NEW YORK -- Federal authorities have charged two New Jersey residents for their alleged roles in a drug ring that shipped narcotics from Puerto Rico to New York through the U.S. mail
Named in the two-count indictment, unsealed in Brooklyn federal court this week, are: Jermaine Sandifer, 40, of Perth Amboy; Saul Ovalles Corniel, 40, of Newark; Bronx residents Kelvin Cisnero Santos, 48, and Ernest Pena, 40; and Carlos Bello Tirado, 40, of Leesburg, Fla.
Between 2011 and 2013, the Bronx-based ring bought hundreds of kilos of cocaine in Puerto Rico, which was packaged and addressed to locations in the Bronx. Authorities say Sandifer, a letter carrier based at the Highbridge postal station in the Bronx, intercepted the packages and delivered them to members of the organization, receiving $1,000 to $5,000 per package. The drugs were also mailed to post office boxes throughout New York City and New Jersey, authorities said.
Santos, Corniel, Tirado, Pena, and others laundered the proceeds from the drug sales through bank accounts in the New York metropolitan area to pay suppliers and buy more cocaine, authorities also said.
"This U.S. postal employee allegedly used his trusted position as a letter carrier to conspire with others to flood our streets with hundreds of kilos of cocaine," said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in-charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York. "HSI and its law enforcement partners are committed to dismantling drug trafficking organizations that wreak havoc on our neighborhoods."
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement also assisted in the investigation.
Sandifer and the others named in the indictment face 10 years to life in prison if convicted.