Duo Arrested Trying To Deliver $5.5 Million Dollars Worth Of Cocaine To Newark New Jersey!

On May 2nd, 2022, at around 6:20 a.m, Louisiana State Troopers stopped an 18-wheeler for a routine traffic stop in St. Tammany Parish. During the traffic stop, Troopers questioned the drivers about their routes and cargo but the answers they gave made Troopers suspicious. The duo were later identified as Melvin Contreras and Pedro Sarante.

Troopers seized 3 duffel bags containing 74 kilograms of cocaine. The street value is estimated at $5.5 million dollars. Sarante pleaded guilty on June 8, 2023. He was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride. He was sentenced on February 1, 2024, to ninety-six months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Sarante later admitted that he was hired to travel from Bronx, New York, to Baytown, Texas, to pick up a load of narcotics and transport them to Newark, NJ. He also admitted that he was going to be paid $1,000.00 per kilogram, once he delivered the drugs to Newark. Contreras pled guilty on December 7, 2023 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride. There isn’t an update on his prison sentence yet.

Tags: Police