Trucker faces up to life in prison after cops find coke, fentanyl, during NJ Turnpike traffic stop

A New York-based truck driver is facing a serious felony charge after police stopped him for driving erratically and then discovered several duffel bags filled with drugs in the cab of his truck this week.

Yonkers-based truck driver Alejandro Nouel Lajud, 39, has been charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

On Monday, December 5, Lajud was stopped by police on the New Jersey Turnpike in East Rutherford after officers saw him operating his tractor trailer erratically.

During a search of the vehicle, officers found “seven duffel bags in the middle area of the Tractor- Trailer’s cab, which were interspersed within cardboard boxes.”

Inside the duffel bags were 95 brick-shaped packages.

Approximately 70 of the packages contained suspected cocaine and approximately 25 contained suspected fentanyl, authorities said.

A total of 95 kilos of drugs were seized by police.

If convicted on the possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl charge, Lajud faces a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10 million.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the New York Strike Force, under the direction of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, with the investigation leading to the charge.