Efrain Colon-Garcia, Cocaine Trafficking, Rhode Island 2023

PROVIDENCE, RI – Efrain Colon-Garcia, a 43-year-old former Woonsocket resident, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a years-long cocaine trafficking conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

According to court documents, Colon-Garcia and his wife, Yaniris Colon-Senquiz, 47, co-led the conspiracy, which shipped over 100 kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Rhode Island. The operation involved members of their extensive family receiving packages containing one or more kilograms of cocaine, which were shipped to 19 different addresses in Rhode Island and received more than 60 packages.

Initially, the packages contained less than one kilogram of cocaine, hidden within items like clothing and toys. 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. In addition to having family members receive the packages, the Colons had family members collect and transport drug proceeds to New York as part of the business.

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

At the time law enforcement interrupted the organization in 2020, the Colons were supplying cocaine to drug dealers in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Florida.

At sentencing today, U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith sentenced Colon-Garcia to 10 years in federal prison to be followed by three years of federal supervised release. Yaniris Colon-Senquiz is awaiting sentencing. The defendants pleaded guilty on September 6, 2023, 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.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/co-leader-drug-trafficking-organization-imported-over-100-kilos-cocaine-sentenced-ten