A Rhode Island man has been arrested by federal authorities after they discovered more than a kilogram of cocaine stashed inside an old TV.
According to a statement from Providence’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, the 25-year-old suspect from Pawtucket, Jomar Cruz-Aponte, was charged with conspiracy to possess 500 grams or more of cocaine with intent to distribute. On Dec. 22, U.S. Border Protection Agents intercepted a package bound for Cruz-Aponte’s address from Colombia, which according to prosecutors contained an “old TV without commercial value.”
Once law enforcement broke it apart, the vintage television appeared to have been used as a storage shell for more than 2.2 pounds of cocaine. Authorities said this marked the second time in just nine days that an old TV with cocaine was intercepted en route from Colombia to Rhode Island.
Cruz-Aponte is due back in court on Tuesday. His arrest comes two months after two Cranston, Rhode Island men were arrested for carrying 49 pills filled with Fentanyl, as well as crack cocaine and a loaded handgun. Police discovered the drugs when they pulled over Jarred Alba, 25, and Troy Lassiter, 49, during a traffic stop.
“The public should be warned that there is an influx of counterfeit prescription pills being sold on the black market here in Rhode Island,” Col. Michael Winquist of the Cranston Police Department said at the time. “These pills contain high purity levels of fentanyl or methamphetamine, resulting in overdose deaths of unsuspecting users in Cranston and throughout the country.”
