Philadelphia Man Admits Transporting Three Kilograms of Cocaine

NEWARK, N.J. – A Philadelphia man today admitted possessing and transporting more than three kilograms of cocaine he intended to distribute, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Suris Vasquez-Javier, 40, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Jan. 27, 2020, law enforcement officers conducted a lawful motor vehicle stop during which Vasquez-Javier provided consent to search the vehicle. During the search, they uncovered a secret compartment, known as a “trap” and commonly used by criminals to hide contraband, such as narcotics, in an effort to evade detection. Law enforcement officers recovered a black plastic bag containing more than three kilograms of cocaine. A search incident to his arrest uncovered more than $2,600 in U.S. currency. 

The charge of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2021. 

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, and members of the New Jersey State Police, under direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Angelica M. Sinopole of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.