Drug Enforcement Agents in New York charged five people for allegedly using children’s lunch boxes and school binders to smuggle 66 pounds of cocaine from Puerto Rico to New York.
Carlos Duarte and Alexis Garcia were arrested Wednesday for leading the operation, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) press release. Rual Sweeney, Wesley Coddington, and Bryan Centendo-Rosado were arrested earlier in the investigation.
The feds say they have busted a ring that was mailing cocaine from Puerto Rico to New York City inside of children’s lunchboxes in a “sophisticated scheme.” https://t.co/mkNuUXLhWh
— Fox5NY (@fox5ny) October 27, 2021
The DEA’s investigation into the alleged conspiracy ran from May 2020 to July 2021, according to the press release.
“Concealing narcotic drugs in children’s lunchboxes was the modus operandi for this organization. If this tactic was designed to throw off law enforcement, it did not work,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said, according to the press release. (RELATED: ‘What? You Haven’t Seen That In The Movies?’: Man Arrested For Allegedly Planning To Smuggle Drugs Using Bible)
Duarte and Garcia allegedly used their jobs as managers representing recording artists to cover up their drug smuggling activities, the DEA said.
The five suspects have been charged with conspiracy and multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance, according to the press release. Duarte has also been charged with operating as a major drug trafficker.
The DEA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller for comment.