Colombian National Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Transport Hundreds Of Kilograms Of Cocaine Into The United States

NEWARK, N.J. – A Colombian citizen was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced.

Edgar Ruiz-Gomez, a/k/a “Gono,” 57, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to Count One of an Indictment charging him with conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine.

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

From 2016 through January 2020, Ruiz-Gomez and others conspired to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.  Ruiz-Gomez acknowledged holding a managerial role in this conspiracy, which involved more than five individuals.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas sentenced Ruiz-Gomez to five years of supervised release.

“My office is fully committed to employing its considerable resources to prosecuting dangerous drug organizations,” said U.S. Attorney John Giordano.  

U.S. Attorney Giordano credited special agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark, New Jersey, as well as special agents and task force officers with the DEA operating in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.  He also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia; Colombian law enforcement authorities; and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.