Two smugglers of cocaine face 10-year sentences

Two drug runners were found guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court of smuggling more than 100 pounds of cocaine through Philadelphia International Airport.

Richard Caraballo-Rodriguez, 39, was hired as a drug courier along with Luis Deya, 61. Both are from Puerto Rico. Each man picked up two suitcases laden with cocaine May 1, 2008, after arriving in Philadelphia on a US Airways flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. Attorney Michael Levy said.

Juan Cordero, 34, of Perth Amboy, N.J., met the men at the airport, took the suitcases from the couriers, and placed them in an SUV bound for New York City. Pennsylvania state police stopped the vehicle and arrested the three men.

Deya pleaded guilty June 29 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He later testified that he had been paid $5,000 to deliver the cocaine to Cordero, Levy said. A jury yesterday found Caraballo-Rodriguez and Cordero guilty of multiple drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Each faces a 10-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence. - Sam Wood