ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An international narcotics trafficker from the Dominican Republic and a narcotics trafficker from New York City were sentenced today to a combined 17 years in prison for their respective roles in a multi-million dollar conspiracy to purchase 100 kilograms of cocaine.
According to court documents and evidence presented at a related trial, Luis Rafael Tavarez, aka “El Primo," 37, traveled from New York to Northern Virginia in October 2018 with co-defendants Manny Lizardo, 24, and Luis Liriano-Toribio, 32, to obtain 100 kilograms of cocaine in exchange for $2.5 million in cash. Law enforcement seized over $1.15 million in cash at the time of the arrests.
Tavarez was sentenced to ten and a half years in prison, while Lizardo was sentenced to six and a half years. Liriano-Toribio was convicted by a federal jury on March 18 and will be sentenced on June 28.
On several occasions in September and October 2018, Tavarez reaffirmed his desire to travel to Virginia to conduct a large drug transaction whereby he would pay $25,000 per kilogram of cocaine. In connection with this multi-million dollar deal, Tavarez sought an additional vehicle, known to narcotics traffickers as a “trap vehicle," to split large amounts of cocaine into separate cars in order to minimize the risk of potentially losing the entire shipment in the event that law enforcement stopped one of the vehicles. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Tavarez used multiple telephones, an alias, and encrypted communication platforms, including with Lizardo and Liriano-Toribio, because he believed those measures would minimize the risk of law enforcement detection.
Tavarez previously admitted that Lizardo and Liriano-Toribio traveled to Northern Virginia to assist him in trafficking and/or transporting the large shipment of cocaine back to New York. Tavarez served as the leader and organizer of the operation, and was arrested at a hotel in Vienna in possession of over $1 million dollars in cash. Lizardo and Liriano-Toribio were arrested in a parking garage in Fairfax while both men were attempting to take possession of the cocaine.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, and Colonel James Morris, Vienna Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-426.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
