Somerset county man sentenced to 14 years for conspiring to distribute over 18 kilograms of heroin following HSI investigation
NEWARK, N.J. – On September 13, a Somerset County, New Jersey, man was sentenced in the United States District Court of New Jersey to 168 months for his role in a drug trafficking network that was responsible for the importation of large quantities of heroin into New Jersey.
William T. Bouza, 45, of Watchung, New Jersey, was sentenced via videoconference before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton who sentenced Bouza to 168 months imprisonment, five years supervised release and a $25,000 fine. Bouza previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession with intent to distribute heroin on April 27, 2022.
“By targeting heroin and fentanyl supply sources, HSI is preventing these dangerous drugs from reaching the street,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Reinhold. “We will continue to work closely with our partners to dismantle these drug trafficking networks”.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In February 2019, Bouza arranged for a vehicle that was equipped with a secret compartment, or “trap,” containing 15 kilograms of heroin, to be shipped from California to a location in Union County. Law enforcement intercepted the vehicle, seized the narcotics, and identified Bouza as the intended recipient. In the following months, law enforcement determined that Bouza was storing and processing narcotics for street-level distribution at multiple locations in Essex County. In October 2019, Bouza was apprehended. Law enforcement subsequently discovered more than 1,000 packages, or “bricks” of heroin, each containing approximately 50 individual doses, in one of Bouza’s stash-houses. In total, law enforcement seized over 18 kilograms of heroin belonging to Bouza.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Reinhold thanked the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Detectives within the New Jersey State Police Opioid Enforcement Task Force, under the direction of Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, and other law enforcement agencies within the Opioids Task Force with the investigation.
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