Large-Scale LI-Based Trafficking Operation Transported Fentanyl, Cocaine Across U.S.: Feds

LONG ISLAND, NY — Five members and associates of the large-scale Long Island-based drug trafficking organization — No Budget — that transported fentanyl and 137 kilograms of cocaine across the United States have been charged with conspiring to distribute the illicit drugs since 2017, federal prosecutors said.

Nicholas Andrade, 37, and Julian Hutchins, 43, both of White Plains; Prince Jones, 36, of Mineola; Jose Lopez, 43, of Elmont; and Ryan O’Malley, 34, of Port Jefferson, transported the drugs across the country for distribution primarily in Long Island and Queens, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday.

Andrade, the leader of the organization, is also charged for his role in the March 9, 2023, slaying of Jose Manuel Sosa in Bay Shore and the March 10, 2023, shooting in Queens of a potential witness to the murder, prosecutors said.

Andrade, along with Jones, Lopez, and O'Malley have been ordered detained pending trial, while Hutchins, who was arrested in Florida, and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.

If convicted of the charges, they face up to life in prison.

The defendants' attorney information was not immediately available.

United States Attorney for the Eastern District John Durham said the group took part in the "large-scale distribution of deadly narcotics across Long Island and committed crimes of extreme violence to maintain their drug business."

“My office and our law enforcement partners will continue working tirelessly to eradicate the scourge of fentanyl and drug-related violence on Long Island and the related harm these dangerous drugs pose to our communities," he added.

Durham expressed his appreciation for the help of Suffolk's police, District Attorney’s office, New York City Police Department, state police, Queens District Attorney’s office, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for their work on the case.

Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarentino said the indictment against the group, who ran a drug trafficking organization known as “No Budget” spared no cost at using violence to run their illicit drug distribution of cocaine and fentanyl."

“Thanks to the hard work and determination of the DEA and our law enforcement partners, we were able to remove 137 kilos of cocaine destined for the streets of Long Island," he said. "The DEA remains committed to protecting our communities.”

The five had a series of stash houses in Queens and on Long Island, and phone records and surveillance regularly captured them meeting with one another and exchanging duffle
bags, luggage, or other bags in manners consistent with narcotics trafficking, prosecutors said.

As a result of court-authorized searches, law enforcement recovered dozens of kilogram wrappers with cocaine residue, kilogram presses used to reshape narcotics, packaging materials, and quantities of fentanyl and cocaine, according to prosecutors.

On April 27, law enforcement intercepted a truck traveling from California to New York that contained a shipment of 137 kilograms of cocaine destined for No Budget’s distribution operation, prosecutors said.

In total, the investigation revealed that the group was responsible for the distribution of over 235 kilograms of cocaine and 20 kilograms of fentanyl, according to prosecutors.

In addition to Andrade’s narcotics operation, he directed several violent crimes, including the slaying of Sosa and the subsequent attempted murder of a potential witness to it, prosecutors said, adding that Sosa’s killing was precipitated by a fight that escalated over the preceding months between Andrade, Sosa, and another Long Island-based drug dealer, prosecutors said.

In early March 2023, Andrade and others planned to rob Sosa’s home, according to prosecutors.

However, on March 9, 2023, Andrade directed other members of No Budget to kill Sosa, prosecutors said, adding that later that day, when Sosa was alone in his driveway, the shooter exited a borrowed Audi and shot Sosa multiple times, killing him.

The shooter and getaway driver sped away and the two met up with Andrade, prosecutors said.

The next day, to cover up No Budget’s involvement in Sosa’s murder, Andrade and the shooter developed a plan to lure "John Doe-1" — the owner of the Audi used in the
murder — to a location in Queens and kill him, according to prosecutors.

When "John Doe-1" arrived at the location, acting at Andrade’s direction, the shooter had a brief conversation with "John Doe-1" in the Audi, and upon exiting the Audi, turned and fired into the vehicle, striking "John Doe-1" in the head, prosecutors said, adding that "John Doe-1" sustained serious injuries, but ultimately survived his wounds.

These arrests were part of an operation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which "identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach," the U.S. Attorney's office said.

This case itself is also part of "Operation Take Back America," which the office describes as 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 other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."

Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood, according to the office.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.