Men Sentenced In NoVA Drug Trafficking Sting

VIENNA, VA—Two men have been sentenced in relation to a multi-million dollar drug trafficking operation in Northern Virginia. Prosecutors say the men traveled to the area from New York last October to obtain 100 kilograms of cocaine for $2.5 million.

Luis Rafael Tavarez, 37, who was considered the leader of the operation, will serve ten and a half years in prison. His co-conspirator Manny Lizardo, 24, was sentenced to six and a half years. A third defendant, Luis Liriano-Toribio, 32, was convicted in March and will be sentenced on June 28.

According to court documents, the men were arrested on Oct. 23, 2018 after an undercover special agent with Virginia State Police met up with them. The undercover cop and a confidential source met Tavarez at a Marriott hotel, which an affidavit only identified as a hotel with a Vienna address. The undercover cop led Lizardo and Liriano-Toribio to a parking garage at a Home Depot in Fairfax to pick up the cocaine. Tavarez and the confidential source stayed at the hotel to count the money for the transaction.

Lizardo and Liriano-Toribio were arrested at the parking garage. Tazaro was arrested shortly afterward at the hotel after he was found with at least $1 million in cash on him.

Prosecutors say Tavarez spoke on previous occasions about buying cocaine for $25,000 per kilogram to transport back to New York. He also took several measures, such as the use of multiple telephones, an alias and encrypted communication platforms, to avoid law enforcement detection.