Investigation into suspicious parcels leads to arrest of convicted felon on drug and gun charges
BUFFALO, N.Y. – United States Drug Enforcement Administration New York Division Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan and U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced that Felix Calderon-Valcarcel, 28, of Orchard Park, N.Y., was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with the intent to distribute, and distribution of, five kilograms or more of cocaine, maintaining a drug-involved premises, possessing of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possessing of a firearm as a convicted felon. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in September of 2018, members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted a suspicious parcel of mail addressed to 179 East Abbott Grove Avenue in Orchard Park, N.Y., which is the defendant’s residence. On Sept. 24, 2018, inspectors executed a federal search warrant of the parcel, which was determined to contain cocaine. In February 2019, another suspicious parcel addressed to 179 East Abbott Grove Avenue in Orchard Park was intercepted, and again it contained suspected cocaine.
On March 26, 2019, investigators approached Calderon-Valcarcel who was in a silver Toyota Camry parked near the intersection of Stevenson Street and Cumberland Avenue in Buffalo. The defendant was observed counting a large quantity of U.S. currency. Calderon-Valcarcel was taken into custody. During a search of the car, investigators recovered a kilogram of suspected cocaine in the trunk of the vehicle.
Subsequently, a search warrant was executed at the Calderon-Valcarcel’s East Abbott Grove Avenue residence. Seized during the search warrant were four kilograms of suspected cocaine and a 9mm caliber handgun.
The defendant was previously convicted in 2015 in Erie County Court of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a Class A-II felony. As a result, Calderon-Valcarcel is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The defendant will make an initial appearance on March 28, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy.
The complaint is the result of an investigation by the DEA Buffalo Resident Office; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Orchard Park Police Department; the Lackawanna Police Department; and the Hamburg Police Department.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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