New York Resident Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Trafficking Charges

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – MELVIN CONTRERAS, age 33, a resident of Bronx, New York, pled guilty on December 7, 2023 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court documents, on May 2, 2022, a Louisiana State Trooper conducted a traffic stop of a 2005 Peterbilt tractor-trailer bearing a New Jersey license plate on Interstate 12 East to perform a motor carrier inspection.  The trooper identified CONTRERAS as the driver of the tractor and Pedro Sarante as the passenger in the sleeper area of the tractor-trailer.

The trooper interviewed both vehicle occupants regarding their itinerary and cargo.  Neither of them could identify the cargo or detail their itinerary.  Troopers conducted a consensual search of the vehicle and seized three (3) rolling duffel bags containing approximately seventy-four (74) kilograms of cocaine from the sleeper area of the tractor-trailer.  The troopers arrested both CONTRERAS and Sarante.

In a post-arrest interview, Sarante informed law enforcement that he and CONTRERAS were hired to travel from New York to Baytown, Texas to pick up a load of narcotics and were to be paid $1,000.00 per kilogram when they delivered the drugs to Newark, New Jersey.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Louisiana State Police. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney André Jones of the Narcotics Unit.