News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
Peter F. Neronha
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
August 9, 2010
Two Indicted after Cocaine Shipment Interrupted by Joint Federal & State Investigation
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Two people indicted by a federal grand jury August 4, 2010, on charges of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine have been ordered detained following arraignments in U.S. District Court in Providence. Luis A. Guzman, 33, of Fall River, Mass., and Madaline Mulero-Sosa, 29, of Providence, R.I., were arrested after federal agents intercepted a shipment of approximately 3.5 kilos of cocaine from Guatemala in Miami, and federal and state law enforcement agents orchestrated a controlled delivery in Providence.
Guzman and Mulero-Sosa entered not guilty pleas at their arraignments Thursday, and were ordered detained by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David L. Martin.
The arrests and indictments were announced by U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE); and Colonel Brendan P. Doherty, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
U.S. Customs agents at Miami International Airport discovered approximately 3.5 kilos of cocaine July 20, embedded in marble tiles in a package being shipped to a Providence, R.I. address. Agents removed the cocaine, and the remaining contents of the package were shipped to ICE agents in Rhode Island. A controlled delivery to the Providence address was completed two days later, with law enforcement surveillance teams positioned outside the home and an ICE agent posing as the shipping company delivery person.
A short time after the package was delivered and placed in a garage, law enforcement officers watched as Guzman and Mulero-Sosa arrived in separate vehicles. Agents arrested the defendants and recovered the package. Agents also searched the apartment the package was addressed to and found it empty.
An indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Guzman and Mulero-Sosa face the potential of maximum sentences of 5-40 years imprisonment; supervised release for life, with a minimum mandatory of 4 years; and $2,000,000 fines on each count of the indictment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adi Goldstein.
The matter was investigated jointly by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force, Rhode Island State Police/ High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), with the assistance of Providence Police.
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