Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that two drug traffickers from Texas were sentenced to state prison today in connection with the seizure of five kilos of cocaine by the Atlantic City Task Force and federal law enforcement partners during an investigation into cocaine trafficking in South Jersey.
Esiquio Salgado, 34, was sentenced today to 12 years in state prison, including five years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Philip E. Haines in Atlantic County.
Cristano Ramirez, 31, was sentenced today by Judge Haines to 10 years in prison, including three years of parole ineligibility. Both defendants pleaded guilty on June 26 to first-degree possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
Salgado and Ramirez were arrested in October 2016 in an investigation by the Atlantic City Task Force.
The ACTF and HSI developed information that the two defendants were dealing kilogram quantities of cocaine into South Jersey.
The investigating agencies learned that the two defendants planned to make a sale of five kilograms of cocaine on Oct. 18, 2016 at a location in South Jersey. Salgado and Ramirez arrived at the location in a vehicle with Connecticut license plates and delivered the five kilos of cocaine in a duffle bag.
They were arrested immediately afterward. The seized cocaine has a street value in Atlantic City of roughly $230,000.
“Over the past six years, the Atlantic City Task Force has made hundreds of arrests of drug dealers and violent felons, seizing guns and large quantities of narcotics,” said Attorney General Porrino. “This is another example of the excellent work they are doing to protect the people of Atlantic City and the surrounding communities.”
Since its formation in 2011, the Atlantic City Task Force has made more than 965 arrests and has executed over 100 search warrants.
The task force has seized nearly 100 guns and a total of approximately 12 kilos of heroin, 13 kilos of cocaine, and almost half a million dollars in U.S. currency.