22 Pounds Of Coke Smuggled From Texas To New Jersey, 2 Men Indicted: AG

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Two men have been indicted for their involvement in an interstate drug trafficking operation, according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.

Carlos E. Tavarez-Sanchez, 37, of Paterson, and Carlos Martinez, 45, of New York City, were indicted this week by a grand jury following a months-long investigation.

In July, investigators executed a search warrant of a Jeep, driven by Tavarez-Sanchez, due to suspicion it was being used to haul drugs across the country, authorities said.

The Jeep, which had been brought from Texas to New Jersey by a car carrier, had around 22 pounds of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment, police said.

Police arrested Tavarez-Sanchez, as well as Martinez, who was traveling alongside the Jeep in a Porsche.

Authorities then executed a search warrant on Tavarez-Sanchez’s Paterson home and found around $87,000 in suspected drug money, authorities said.

Police also found a ledger that “documented drug deals and fees paid to facilitate transport of the Jeep to Texas by car carrier companies,” according to the attorney general.

The pair is charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), conspiracy, possession of CDS, and possession with intent to distribute CDS within 1,000 feet of school property.

Tavarez-Sanchez was also indicted on a count of financial facilitation of criminal activity following an investigation launched in December 2024 by the state police’s Drug Trafficking North Unit.

If convicted of all charges, Martinez faces up to 40 years in prison, and Tavarez-Sanchez faces up to 50 years.