NEWARK, N.J. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - New Jersey), published as received.

NEWARK, N.J. – A dual citizen of Mexico and the United States who trafficked multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine was sentenced on July 14, 2026, to 104 months in prison and four years of supervised release before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Edgar Lopez Razo, Jr., 30, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Lopez Razo admitted that, from approximately February 2022 through March 2024, he participated in a scheme to traffic large quantities of controlled substances by booking a series of short-term property rentals that he and his coconspirators would use to receive deliveries of narcotics. 

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Lopez Razo participated in a sophisticated large-scale drug-trafficking conspiracy. Lopez Razo and a coconspirator booked a series of short-term property rentals that they would systematically use to receive multi-kilogram deliveries of narcotics. Through this scheme, the coconspirators continually changed the address receiving the narcotics as a technique to evade detection by law enforcement. Lopez Razo and a coconspirator booked at least 27 rental properties to receive shipments of narcotics, in multiple locations throughout New Jersey and other states. The investigation resulted in the seizure of over 31 kilograms of cocaine, over 9 kilograms of fentanyl, and nearly 5 kilograms of heroin.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas in Newark with the investigation that led to the charges and conviction.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Newark comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, IRS and local law enforcement officers with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Rosenblum of the Narcotics & International Trafficking Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: John H. Yauch, Esq.