Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Philadelphia man has been indicted on charges that, as part of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Atlantic City, he allegedly distributed a kilogram of cocaine to an undercover officer at the Deptford Mall in Gloucester County.
Eduardo Colon-Lopez, 36, of Philadelphia, was indicted yesterday afternoon by an Atlantic County grand jury on charges of first-degree distribution of cocaine, second-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and third-degree possession of cocaine.
Colon-Lopez was arrested on Sept. 20, 2014, in the parking lot of the Deptford Mall as the result of an investigation by the Atlantic City Task Force (ACTF), which is comprised of members of state, county, local and federal law enforcement agencies. Colon-Lopez remains in the Atlantic County Jail with bail set at $250,000.
Colon-Lopez’s arrest was part of an investigation by the Atlantic City Task Force into an alleged conspiracy to distribute bulk quantities of cocaine in Atlantic City. Up until his arrest, Colon-Lopez was known to the ACTF only as “Papito.” To apprehend him, members of the ACTF initiated an undercover investigation through which they allegedly arranged for Colon-Lopez to sell a kilogram of cocaine for $40,000 to an undercover member of the New Jersey State Police.
The first-degree charge carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $500,000. The second-degree charge carries a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while the third-degree charges carries a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $35,000.