Yonkers Trucker Charged With Trafficking 95 Kilos Of Coke, Fentanyl

YONKERS, NY — A Yonkers truck driver wasn't very far from home when he lost his load, according to federal officials.

The Yonkers man was arrested in East Rutherford for possessing with intent to distribute approximately 70 kilograms of cocaine and 25 kilograms of fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday.

Alejandro Nouel Lajud is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. The 39-year-old was arrested and had his initial court appearance on Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte and was detained.

According to court documents, Lajud was stopped for driving a tractor-trailer erratically on the New Jersey Turnpike on Monday. During a search of the tractor-trailer, officers discovered approximately 95 brick-shaped packages, each of which weighed approximately one kilogram. Approximately 70 of the packages contained suspected cocaine and approximately 25 contained suspected fentanyl, officials reported.

The count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl carries a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10 million.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the NY Strike Force, under the direction of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, with the investigation leading to the charge.

The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations. The arrest was the result of an investigation by the NY Strike Force, a crime-fighting unit comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and the NY/NJ High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

The NY OCDETF Strike Force is housed at the DEA’s NY Division and includes agents and officers of the DEA; the NYPD; the NYS 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; NY National Guard; U.S. Coast Guard; Port Washington Police Department; NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision; and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.