United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEW YORK, NY. - JOHN P. GILBRIDE, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement ("DEA") and PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOSE CABRERA, a/k/a "Jose Luis Cabrera Marcelino" was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Manhattan to 172 months in prison for his role in conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute multiple kilogram-quantities of cocaine and heroin. CABRERA was sentenced by U.S. District Judge LAWRENCE M. MCKENNA, before whom he pled guilty on August 5, 2010.

According to the documents previously filed in this case:

On June 19, 2008, CABRERA was arrested for his participation in a heroin distribution conspiracy earlier that year. After being released on bail, CABRERA was intercepted numerous times on a court-authorized wiretap agreeing with others to distribute a large shipment of cocaine being flown into New York from the Dominican Republic. On June 21, 2009, law enforcement agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport intercepted a shipment of more than 340 kilograms of cocaine hidden in two separate breadfruit shipments aboard a commercial flight from the Dominican Republic. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, this was the largest single seizure of narcotics ever made at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

In addition to the prison term, Judge MCKENNA sentenced CABRERA, 34, of the Bronx, New York, to five years of supervised release.

Mr. BHARARA praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations for their assistance in this case.

The case is being handled by the Office's Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney AMANDA KRAMER is in charge of the prosecution.