NEWARK: A Sayreville man was convicted Friday by a federal jury for his role in a conspiracy to import heroin from India into the United States, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.
Adolphus Nwokedi, 47, was convicted of one count of conspiring with others to import 100 grams or more of heroin. He was convicted following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court. The jury deliberated for about three hours before returning the guilty verdict.
According to documents filed and evidence at trial, from October 2013 through December 2013, Nwokedi conspired with an individual in India to ship a parcel containing heroin into the United States. In return for $3,000, Nwokedi agreed to accept the package at his business address in Newark and then deliver it to another conspirator living in the Bronx, New York.
On Dec. 11, 2013, customs officers at the John F. Kennedy International Airport mail facility intercepted the parcel and found 524 grams of heroin. On Jan. 2, 2014, agents with Homeland Security Investigations conducted a controlled delivery of the parcel. Nwokedi accepted the parcel in Newark and was subsequently arrested.
The conspiracy count carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison. Sentencing is set for March 21, 2016.
Fishman credited special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly, with the investigation.
