Bronx, New York, Man Indicted for Drug Trafficking

TRENTON, N.J. – A federal grand jury today indicted an individual with ties to a drug-trafficking organization for possessing nearly 1 kilogram of heroin with intent to distribute in Ocean County, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Luis Payano-Perez, 36, of the Bronx, New York, was charged with one count of possession of 100 grams or more of heroin with intent to distribute. Payano-Perez was previously charged by criminal complaint in November 2018. He will be arraigned on a date to be determined.

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

In early November 2018, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), confidential informant provided information that Payano-Perez was prepared to sell the source a large volume of heroin on the evening of November 8, 2018, in the parking lot of the Wawa convenience store in Tuckerton, New Jersey.

In the days before Nov. 8, 2018, Payano-Perez and the confidential informant arranged for the quantity and price of the heroin to be sold, as well as the date, time and location of the planned transaction. On Nov. 8, 2018, Payano-Perez met with two confidential government informants at the Wawa parking lot in order to sell them approximately one kilogram of heroin. Law enforcement officers converged on the Wawa parking lot and arrested Payano-Perez. A subsequent search of Payano-Perez’s vehicle uncovered a bag containing nearly one kilogram of heroin.

The charge against Payano-Perez carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $5 million fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of HSI Atlantic City, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason Molina in Newark; and the Tuckerton Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Olsen, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric A. Boden of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.