Providence Man To Serve 8 Years For Trafficking Cocaine

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man has been sentenced to eight years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to cocaine trafficking charges, said Attorney General Peter F. Neronha in a news release Tuesday.

Benjamin Delacruz, 34, was arrested state police on November 5 , 2018 after picking up a package containing 1,964 kilograms of cocaine from a shipping store in Cranston, said Neronha.

Prosecutors say the arrest stemmed from an investigation into suspicious packages being shipped from Puerto Rico to Delacruz in Rhode Island. Police obtained a search warrant to search the package prior to Delacruz retrieving it, found that it contained cocaine, and resealed and delivered it to the Cranston shipping store, where Delacruz picked it up later that day and was taken into custody.

"Unfortunately, the recent challenges faced by the United States Postal Service have not discouraged national and transnational drug organizations from using the mail to import large amounts of narcotics into the United States and Rhode Island for further distribution here," said Neronha in a statement. "Fortunately, the Rhode Island State Police, the Postal Inspection Service and prosecutors with this Office have become adept at interdicting these packages and building strong prosecutions against those involved in this illicit business."

Delacruz was sentenced to 15 years at the ACI with eight years to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended with probation, said Neronha.