Jose Torres, Cocaine Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2022

SCRANTON – A Texas man has plead guilty to cocaine trafficking charges in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.

Jose Torres, 28, of El Paso, Texas, pleaded guilty on November 3, 2023, before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, to the charge of possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Torres admitted to possessing between 15 kilograms and 50 kilograms of cocaine for further distribution in the Lackawanna County area in September 2022.

The charges stem from an incident on September 29, 2022, in which members of the Pennsylvania State Police made a traffic stop of a vehicle in Lackawanna County. Torres and codefendant, Luis Gonzalez, 27, of El Paso, Texas, were the occupants of the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of sixteen individually wrapped kilograms of cocaine, having a street-value of approximately $500,000.

Luis Gonzalez previously entered a guilty plea before Judge Mariani on November 2, 2023.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Pennsylvania State Police and the Scranton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.

Under federal law, the offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison. The maximum penalty under federal law is up to life in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Drug Trafficking

Trung Pham, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Louisiana 2017

Aug 24, 2017

Drug Trafficking

Francis Manuel Santos Arias, Fentanyl Trafficking, Massachusetts 2023

Mar 5, 2024

Drug Trafficking

Synthetic Cannabinoid Traffickers, Destroyed Drug Paraphernalia, New Mexico 2023

Jan 30, 2017

Drug Trafficking

Kenneth Edward Stafford, Prescription Pill Conspiracy, Tennessee 2024

Mar 19, 2015