Man Found Guilty of Distributing Drugs in State Prison in Cumberland County, NJ

A man from Hudson County has been convicted for his role in trafficking heroin and fentanyl into Bayside State Prison in Cumberland County, which resulted in an inmate overdosing.

41-year-old Noel "Kuko" Salgado was convicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl and one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl which resulted in serious bodily injury following a four-day trial in federal court, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig.

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According to Honig's office,

While incarcerated at Bayside State Prison, Salgado directed associates to provide narcotics proceeds to him and his associates and to smuggle narcotics into prison to distribute to other inmates.

On Oct. 17, 2015, Salgado called an associate from prison to arrange for the purchase and smuggling into the prison of heroin and fentanyl. Another conspirator picked up the narcotics and smuggled them to Salgado on Oct. 18, 2015. The following day, an inmate to whom Salgado had distributed the narcotics was found unresponsive in his cell suffering from a drug overdose. The inmate stopped breathing on his own and remained unconscious for approximately 20 minutes before medical personnel administered Narcan to revive him. The inmate was hospitalized for two days.

The jury did not reach a unanimous verdict against co-defendant Rodgerick Garrett.

Salgado now faces decades in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.