Twice Convicted Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Cocaine

PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island man who was previously convicted twice and incarcerated for drug trafficking admitted to a federal judge today that, after completing his second term of incarceration and while on federal supervised release, he arranged multiple times to have packages containing cocaine shipped to Rhode Island from Columbia, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Levys Tovar, 43, a former United Parcel Service (UPS) employee, used his position at UPS to attempt to locate and intercept one of the packages prior to it being sent out for a delivery to a non-existent address in Central Falls. Prior to attempting to intercept the package, Tovar tracked the package from his residence approximately 41 times. Unbeknownst to Tovar, the package had been intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after it was found to contain slightly over 200 grams of cocaine secreted inside a piece of machinery.

Further investigation determined that Tovar had other packages sent to various addresses in Rhode Island from Columbia, including one that was intercepted in Columbia that was found to contain approximately 850 grams of cocaine, and another that contained just over 300 grams of cocaine stashed inside an old television set.

According to information presented to the court, Tovar arranged for others to ship to him more than two kilograms of cocaine.

Tovar pleaded guilty today, as charged by indictment in February 2023, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court records, Tovar was convicted in federal court in 2004 of possession with intent to distribute one kilogram of heroin, and again in 2011on a charge of attempt to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.

The current case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey A. Erickson, with the assistance of Christine D. Lowell.

The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations’ Northeast Corridor Border Enforcement Team; Custom and Border Protection; and the Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Warwick Police Departments.

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