Christopher Salgado, Cocaine Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2024

A former California resident has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a large-scale cocaine trafficking organization operating in western Pennsylvania.

Christopher Andrew Salgado, 24, of Oxnard, California, pleaded guilty in federal court on April 10, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Salgado's involvement in the cocaine trafficking organization began in March 2022 and continued until September 2022. During that time, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation revealed that a cocaine source of supply in California would mail parcels containing kilogram quantities of cocaine to a residence in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.

However, investigators seized a parcel containing two kilograms of cocaine before it reached the Aliquippa residence. The source of supply then began sending the parcels to Salgado in West Virginia. Mobile and electronic surveillance confirmed that Salgado would drive the parcel from West Virginia to the Pittsburgh International Airport, pick up co-defendant Jose Sanchez, who would arrive on flights from California, and transport both the parcel and Sanchez to another co-defendant, Romaro Foster Sr., in Aliquippa.

On August 2022, investigators seized a parcel sent from California to Salgado in West Virginia. The parcel contained approximately two kilograms of cocaine. Investigators conducted a controlled delivery operation of the parcel at Salgado's residence, executing a federal search warrant at the residence in conjunction with the operation. From Salgado's bedroom, investigators recovered another parcel sent from California to Salgado containing approximately two kilograms of cocaine, along with a loaded 9mm handgun, an empty pistol magazine, a box of ammunition, and a digital scale.

Salgado faces a maximum sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of $5 million, or both. He is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing, which is scheduled for August 14, 2024.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Drug Enforcement Administration as part of an OCDETF investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/former-california-resident-involved-interstate-cocaine-trafficking-organization-pleads