NEW BRUNSWICK -- A Somerset County man was sentenced today in connection with a conspiracy to distribute 23 kilograms of cocaine.

Gustavo J. Cantu-Flores, 35, of Franklin Township was sentenced to six years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Frederick P. DeVesa in Middlesex County.

Cantu-Flores pleaded guilty on Oct. 25 to a second-degree charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has put a detainer on Cantu-Flores in order to seek his deportation after he completes the prison sentence.

A co-defendant, Carlos Deleon, 31, of New Brunswick, failed to appear before Judge DeVesa for sentencing today. The judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Deleon pleaded guilty on Aug. 10 to first-degree possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He faces a sentence of 16 years in prison, including eight years of parole ineligibility.

The charges resulted from a joint investigation by the New Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force and the New Brunswick Police Department Anti-Crime Unit.

Deleon was arrested on April 12, 2007 when police stopped the SUV he was driving on Route 18 in New Brunswick and found two packages inside containing 23 kilograms of cocaine that was shipped to him from out of state.

Cantu-Flores and Deleon were involved in a conspiracy to distribute the cocaine in New Jersey. That quantity of cocaine has a street value of more than $450,000. The investigation started with a tip from members of the Louisville (Ky.) Metro Police Department working drug interdiction at Louisville International Airport.

Cantu-Flores was arrested on April 13 in the parking lot of a restaurant on Route 1 in North Brunswick in possession of $40,900 in drug proceeds. He was ordered to forfeit that cash as well as a van seized when he was arrested.

Deputy Attorney General Andrew Butchko prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice – Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.

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