Essex County Woman Convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Meth
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Essex County woman was convicted for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, DEA New Jersey Field Division Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Mahogany Hawkins, 32, of Newark, was convicted on one count possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.
In March 2021, two FedEx parcels addressed to “John Brown” in Newark were lawfully intercepted by law enforcement and found to contain cocaine. On March 15, 2021, an undercover officer delivered the packages to the addressee, and a woman – later identified as Hawkins – answered the door and accepted the packages. Officers again knocked on Hawkins’s door, this time identifying themselves as law enforcement. Hawkins said she was “getting dressed” but didn’t open the door. The officers forced entry and found Hawkins standing in the bedroom.
After obtaining a search warrant, the officers searched Hawkins’s apartment and entered a backroom – locked by a keypad – that was a workstation for packaging narcotics. The two FedEx packages from the controlled delivery were found inside a garbage can in the backroom, and the room also contained methamphetamine pills, two plastic bags containing additional cocaine, numerous empty vials used for packaging narcotics, and a heat sealer. Laboratory analysis confirmed substances were cocaine and methamphetamine. Officers also found a loaded handgun and an extended magazine.
The possession with intent to distribute count of which Hawkins was convicted carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso; U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, under the direction of Port Director TenaVel Thomas, Port of New York/Newark; and members of the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Director Fritz Fragé, with the investigation leading to the conviction. He also thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz.
24-09
