FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A New York man has been indicted in South Florida after he tried to smuggle cocaine in a shipping container of avocados at Port Everglades, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Siffredo Gonzalez, 39, is charged with conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to distribute and attempting to possess a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.
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According to the federal indictment, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 83 kilograms of cocaine in the container, which also held avocados, during a Dec. 15 search at Port Everglades. Federal authorities said the container came from the Dominican Republic.
The indictment alleges that Gonzalez met with an undercover agent last month and paid him $25,000 to return the interdicted cocaine.
Jail records show that Gonzalez was arrested by U.S. marshals on Jan. 10 and has been held without bond at the Joseph V. Conte Facility in Pompano Beach.