Mexican National Gets 110 Months for Cocaine Trafficking, Illegal Reentry

A Mexican national is headed to prison for trafficking cocaine and illegally reentering the United States after previously sustaining an aggravated felony conviction.

41-year-old Anastacio Santiago Chaparro, also known as Arnoldo Urquidez, of Mexico, had previously pleaded guilty in Camden federal court to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and illegal reentry by a convicted felon.

This past Tuesday, he was sentenced to 110 months, or about 9 years in prison.

Caught With 10 Kilograms of Cocaine

Federal authorities say on November 6th, 2023, law enforcement officers caught Santiago Chaparro with a backpack that contained over 10 kilograms of cocaine, and he admitted that it was intended for distribution.

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Additionally, Santiago Chaparro had been deported from the United States to Mexico three times and previously sustained a conviction for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, an aggravated felony.

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Supervised Release and Deportation Proceedings Ordered

In addition to the prison term, Santiago Chaparro will be under three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding his deportation proceedings.

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations-Newark and from the Drug Enforcement Administration-New York for their work in this investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chana Y. Zuckier of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering and Recovery Unit in Newark.