Five Men Face Federal Charges Following Raid Of Heroin Mill
NEWARK, N.J. - John G. McCabe, Jr., the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Jersey Division of the Drug Enforcement (DEA) and Paul J. Fishman, the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, announced five men arrested in a police raid last week on a heroin mill in West New York, N.J., are due in court today to face federal charges.
Alejandro Valdez, 34, of West New York; Jorge Guerra, 31, of New York, N.Y.; and Christian Colon, 23, Victor Arias, 29, and Jose Delorbe, 25, of Bronx, N.Y., are charged by federal complaint with conspiring to manufacture heroin for distribution.
According to the Complaint:
On January 22, 2011, law enforcement received information that several men were manufacturing drugs at a residence in West New York. Officers responded to the location and knocked on the door. When Valdez opened the door, the officers could see what they believed to be drugs and related manufacturing and packaging materials. When officers entered the residence, they discovered Arias, Delorbe, Guerra, and Colon inside. All five defendants were arrested.
Pursuant to a warrant, law enforcement seized, among other items, over two kilograms of heroin, marijuana plants, and material and equipment associated with manufacturing and packaging drugs for retail distribution.
The heroin manufacturing conspiracy count with which the defendants each are charged carries a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge John G. McCabe Jr.; the West New York Police Department, under Director Albert Bringa; and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio, with the investigation of this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Cook of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Narcotics/Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit in Newark. The charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
