Camden Drug Dealer, Part of Heroin and Cocaine Ring, Gets 6 Years

A Camden man who was indicted last year as part of a 28-member heroin and cocaine ring will spend six years in state prison after being sentenced Friday.

Luis Cuevas, 30, had pleaded guilty last month to second-degree drug distribution within 500 feet of a public park, after admitting to selling heroin to an undercover detective in August 2010 near Dudley Grange Park in Camden.

Cuevas’ conviction comes just two days after another alleged member of the ring, Reynel “Mito” Delvalle, 35, of Camden, pleaded guilty to racketeering, for allegedly selling an assault rifle and heroin to an undercover officer.

The indictment against Cuevas and the other defendants came about as a result from Operation Jumpstart, a joint investigation that spanned local, state and national agencies, including the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, which targeted a drug network authorities said stretched between Puerto Rico and Camden.

The alleged ringleader, Luis Burgos, 34, of Camden, was part of that 28-person indictment, and authorities said he was responsible for having large quantities of cocaine transported via commercial airlines from Puerto Rico to Newark, NJ, and New York, with all of it earmarked for distribution around Camden. Burgos faces life in prison if convicted.

Eighteen of the defendants have been charged with money laundering, and seven of them—including Burgos—have been charged with first-degree drug distribution. Those charges carry a maximum of 20 years in state prison upon conviction.