Eddie Ruiz, Cocaine Possession, New York 2025

Drug Trafficker Arrested with 15 Kilograms of Cocaine in Hidden Compartment

A drug trafficker was arrested in Sullivan County, New York, with 15 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a specially modified vehicle. Eddie Ruiz, 47, of New York, New York, was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Ruiz was arrested on August 29, 2025, and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in Manhattan federal court on August 30, 2025. The arrest was made after a member of New York state law enforcement pulled over Ruiz's vehicle for several violations of New York's Vehicle and Traffic Law.

Following Ruiz's suspicious behavior during the traffic stop, law enforcement officers approached the vehicle with a drug-detecting canine, which signaled that it had detected the scent of narcotics within. The officers then began a roadside search of the vehicle and found a hidden compartment, also known as a 'trap,' in its trunk.

Once the automobile was transported to a secure law enforcement location, the officers fully opened the trap and found it to contain 15 tightly wrapped rectangular packages, packaged consistently with distribution-level quantities of narcotics and weighing approximately one kilogram each. Field-testing of these packages was positive for cocaine.

Ruiz is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The case is being handled by the Office's White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmi Schickler in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and Ruiz is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/drug-trafficker-charged-possessing-15-kilograms-cocaine-hidden-compartment-car