Efrain Colon-Garcia, Cocaine Trafficking, Rhode Island 2020

Defendant Gets 10 Years for Leading Cocaine Trafficking Ring

PROVIDENCE, RI – Efrain Colon-Garcia, 43, a co-leader of a years-long cocaine trafficking conspiracy in Rhode Island, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Efrain Colon-Garcia’s wife, Yaniris Colon-Senquiz, 47, also co-led the conspiracy. The pair received packages containing one or more kilograms of cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico. These packages were received by family members at 19 different addresses in Rhode Island and over 60 packages in total.

Initially, the Colons received less than one kilogram of cocaine per package, hidden in items like clothing and toys. However, as the operation expanded, the parcels grew in size, with multiple kilograms of cocaine hidden inside larger items like Bluetooth speakers and wooden wine holders.

Family members were paid $1,000 per package to receive the drug parcels at their own homes and paid between $2,000 and $5,000 per trip to collect tens of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds and transport them to New York.

Law enforcement interrupted the operation in 2020, finding that Efrain Colon-Garcia and his associates were supplying cocaine to dealers in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Florida.

U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith handed down the 10-year sentence to Efrain Colon-Garcia, to be followed by three years of federal supervised release. His wife, Yaniris Colon-Senquiz, is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and unlawful use of a communication facility (U.S. Mail).

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christine D. Lowell and Stacey A. Erickson. The matter was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and members of the Rhode Island High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence. PSN brings together law enforcement and communities to make neighborhoods safer.

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