United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine in the area of Lincoln Park in Newark, and for possessing five firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz of the DEA New Jersey Field Division and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Khalid Holland, 44, of Newark, pleaded guilty on May 15, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals to an information charging him with one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon; one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Judge Neals imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

Holland admitted conspiring to distribute fentanyl and cocaine between June 2022 and September 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. As a result of this investigation, law enforcement recovered 13 firearms at various residences, including five in Holland’s residence, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and thousands of individual doses of fentanyl and cocaine. Holland admitted to possessing the five firearms recovered in his residence in furtherance of drug trafficking.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced Holland to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Newark Field Office, under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller; members of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division Office in Newark, under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; members of the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; members of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Fritz G. Fragé; and members of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The investigation was conducted as part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The Newark VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.

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