A Bronx man today admitted driving to Clifton to pick up a suitcase filled with 22 kilograms of heroin, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Emmanuel Gonzalez, 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Feb. 5, 2016, law enforcement observed a tractor trailer, driven by Sauro D. Estevez Figueredo, 48, of Miami, and Alberto Mora, 52, of Morriston, Florida, parked at an intersection near a store in Clifton.
That afternoon, Gonzalez and Edwin Alamo Jr., 21, of Bronx, drove to the tractor trailer and left with a suitcase given to them by Mora.
Subsequent traffic stops later revealed 22 kilograms of heroin in Gonzalez and Alamo’s possession. Law enforcement also found 10 kilograms of cocaine and 10 kilograms of fentanyl still remaining at the tractor trailer.
The drug distribution conspiracy charge to which Gonzalez pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine.
Sentencing is set for Dec. 15, 2016.