Providence man to serve 9 years for cross-country drug trafficking
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Providence man who received a locked case full of cocaine cutting agents and later participated in a scheme to smuggle contraband into the Wyatt Detention Center has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison.
According to U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha, 37-year-old Emmanuel Nolasco previously admitted to a judge that in June of 2020, he traveled to Los Angeles where he obtained 13 kilograms of cocaine that he stored inside a locked carrying case. Nolasco then hired someone to drive the drugs to Rhode Island and deliver them to his home in Providence.
Officials say that while driving to Rhode Island, the driver was stopped by local police in Texas for a traffic violation. The police notified DEA agents in Texas and Providence of their discovery and arranged for the driver to be stopped by federal agents in Rhode Island.
Once the driver met with Nolasco, DEA agents stopped both of them and found the carrying case with 13 kilograms of cocaine cutting agents.
After a court ordered search warrant of Nolasco’s home, officials later found four kilograms of heroin, three kilograms of various cutting agents, two loaded guns, $108,760 in cash, a kilo press, A Porsche Panamera and various materials used in packaging drugs for sale.
In a separate matter, Nolasco admitted to the court that while being detained at the Wyatt Detention Center, he was part of a scheme to smuggle contraband into the detention center. In February of 2021, detention center security seized narcotics from Nolasco’s room.
On June 22, 2023, Nolasco pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, two counts of possession with intent to distribute suboxone and possession of contraband by an inmate.
He was sentenced to 108 months of prison time to be followed by four years of federal supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit the $108,760 in cash, two loaded firearms and Porsche to the government.
