Eight Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Conspiracy to Introduce Contraband into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, PR

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a 14-count indictment on July 18, 2024, charging eight individuals with drug trafficking, conspiracy to provide contraband in prison, and conspiracy to commit identity theft.

According to court documents, from in or about July of 2023 and continuing up to and until on or about May 22, 2024, the defendants conspired to provide Buprenorphine (Suboxone), ketamine, and fentanyl to inmates housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a federal detention facility in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, by introducing envelopes purporting to be legal mail. The defendants are:

(1) José J. Rodríguez-Cumba, a/k/a “Chambi”,

(2) Richard Cruz-Monzón,

(3) Yarelis I. Colón-Ríos,

(4) Yarushka M. De León-Acosta, a/k/a “La Secretaria”,

(5) Edwin D. González-Reyes, a/k/a “Cotto”,

(6) José J. López-Pellot,

(7) Christina M. Rodríguez-Cumba, a/k/a “Nani”, and

(8) Selena Crespo-Dumeng.

All defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to provide contraband in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft. Six defendants are facing aggravated identity theft charges.

“This case should send a clear message to those who attempt to smuggle illegal contraband into a federal facility that we will investigate and prosecute this criminal activity,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

“Through our joint enforcement efforts, we’ve dismantled a criminal organization that utilized the mail to supply drugs to federal and state prisons,” said Juan A. Vargas, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division.  “Postal Inspectors will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold those accountable who maliciously utilize the U.S. mail system.”

“Contraband in correctional institutions continues to be a significant threat. Exposure to narcotics, specifically fentanyl, can cause immediate death to inmates and correctional staff alike,” said Joseph González, Special Agent in Charge, FBI San Juan Field Office. “We are committed to working with our Federal and State law enforcement partners to mitigate this threat and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice”.

If convicted on the drug trafficking charges, the defendants face up to twenty years in prison, that is, ten years for possession of fentanyl in prison; five years for attempting to provide Buprenorphine in prison; five years for conspiracy to provide contraband in prison. The defendants are also facing a maximum sentence of twenty years for conspiracy to commit identity theft, as well as a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division and the FBI are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Chief of the Gang Section Alberto López-Rocafort; Deputy Chief of the Gang Section, AUSA Teresa Zapata-Valladares; and AUSAs R. Vance Eaton and Carlos J. Romo-Aledo are in charge of the prosecution of the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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