Westchester Man Nabbed With 110 Kilos Of Coke Faces Life In Jail: DEA

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Two New Yorkers have been charged with conspiring to distribute approximately 110 kilograms of cocaine as part of an international drug trafficking organization, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced on Monday.

Eddie Velez-Pena, 33, of Yonkers and Robin Medina-Fabian, 38, of the Bronx, are charged with conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On June 25, law enforcement officers ran surveillance on a tractor-trailer driven by Velez-Pena that was believed to contain narcotics for distribution. Organized crime task force agents watched the tractor-trailer drive through New Jersey and stop for some time in Hampton, New Jersey. Velez-Pena then drove through New Jersey to the border of Yonkers and the Bronx where he met with Medina-Fabian. Velez-Pena handed over several duffle bags from his tractor-trailer to Medina-Fabian, who then placed them in an SUV.

Task force officers then pulled over Medina-Fabian’s SUV and saw duffel bags matching those provided by Velez-Pena in plan view. After receiving consent to search the SUV from Medina-Fabian, law enforcement recovered duffle bags containing approximately 110 kilograms of cocaine and drug ledger sheets.

The sting was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. According to a statement announcing the charges, the OCDETF "identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach."

The count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine, according to Sellinger.

The New York OCDETF Strike Force is housed at the DEA’s New York Division and includes agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, the New York State Police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, the U. S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service, New York National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, Port Washington Police Department and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.