Jose Diaz, 29, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram of a mixture containing heroin, 280 grams or more of a mixture containing crack cocaine, a mixture containing cocaine and a mixture containing fentanyl.
A total of 19 defendants were arrested in late 2018 on drug-trafficking charges based on the FBI’s investigation of a drug-trafficking organization that ran the open-air narcotics trade on the 400-500 block of Pine Street in Camden for several months in 2018.
The investigation used video surveillance, confidential informants, consensual recordings, controlled drug purchases, and several court-authorized wiretaps to uncover the inner workings of the drug-trafficking organization.
The organization included street-level sellers, who worked various shifts selling drugs to customers and collecting drug proceeds.
These sellers were supervised by different layers of managers, including Diaz, who, in turn, supplied them with pre-packaged heroin, some of which was mixed with fentanyl, as well as cocaine and crack cocaine.
The FBI and other law enforcement officers recovered multiple firearms from different locations connected to the drug organization at the time of the 2018 arrests.
Sixteen other members of the drug-trafficking conspiracy have previously pleaded guilty in this case. The charges against two other defendants, Juan Figueroa and Christopher Vasquez, remain pending. Their trial is scheduled for May 9, 2022.
The count to which Diaz pleaded guilty carries a mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for March 21, 2022.
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