Juan Aquino, Cocaine Trafficking, Indiana 2024

SOUTH BEND, Indiana - Juan Aquino, 53 years old, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute 500 or more grams of cocaine, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Aquino was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty.

According to documents in the case, in December 2023, Aquino obtained four kilograms of cocaine from Colorado and was transporting it back to New Jersey in hidden vehicle compartments when he was stopped by law enforcement on the Indiana Toll Road.

At the time of the offense, Aquino was on court release awaiting the start of a 63-month term of federal imprisonment for distributing fentanyl and conspiring to distribute fentanyl.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, including the DEA North Central Laboratory, with assistance from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office and the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph P. Falvey and Katelan McKenzie Doyle.

Aquino will also serve 4 years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndin/pr/new-jersey-man-sentenced-78-months-prison