The founder of a New York drug delivery service has been sentenced to 150 months in prison for his role in distributing cocaine laced with fentanyl that killed three people and hospitalized another, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Jose Luis Tejada Aybar, 41, of Miami, was sentenced Tuesday and convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, according to court documents. In addition to the prison term, Tejada was sentenced to five years of supervised release and a $100 mandatory special assessment, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said in a news release.

Tuesday's sentencing is the latest case involving drug courier services that federal authorities have been increasingly cracking down on for deadly overdoses.

"The sentencing of Jose Luis Tejada Aybar marks a crucial step in bringing justice to the victims not only of the Cab Louie Delivery Service but also those victims of fentanyl and other lethal drugs," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "The devastating consequences of Tejada’s operation underscore the importance of dismantling criminal enterprises like this..."

Drug overdose deaths have surged from 2019 to 2021, with more than 106,000 drug overdose deaths reported in 2021, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Of those deaths, more than 70,000 people died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021 — double the amount in 2019 — according to the most recent federal data available.

Researchers have deemed the country's fentanyl issue as a "fourth wave" of the opioid crisis as officials, families, and advocates have called for more action to address addiction and curb the flow of illegally manufactured fentanyl smuggled into the United States.

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Jose Luis Tejada Aybar started an 'on-demand drug courier service'

Tejada started the Cab Louie Delivery Service in March 2018, which delivered cocaine to customers in the Bronx and Westchester County, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The "on-demand drug courier service" sent drivers to deliver cocaine to customers after they were contacted through one of the business’s rotating dispatch lines, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. From March 2018 to September 2021, the Cab Louie Delivery Service sold more than 15 kilograms of cocaine, which is equivalent to nearly 24,000 bags of cocaine.

Tejada eventually hired employees when his business expanded, including Allen Alexis Abisada Guzman and Martin Perez who both delivered cocaine for the business, court documents stated. Abisada and Perez were previously sentenced to 98 months and 70 months in prison, respectively, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Tejada also sourced cocaine for the business; obtained and operated its dispatch phones; and provided Abisada with a vehicle to deliver the cocaine, according to court documents.

Cocaine laced with fentanyl led to 3 overdose deaths

Cocaine that was tainted with fentanyl was distributed from the Cab Louie Delivery Service to three different customers in September 2021, court documents stated.

"The deadly mix caused the overdose deaths of Marsha Clarke of the Bronx, New York, and Martin Banks and Edward Lynch of Yonkers, New York, as well as the hospitalization of Clarke’s husband," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

On Sept. 19, 2019, Abisada delivered cocaine to Clarke, Banks, and Lynch, who all died from cute intoxication by the combined effects of cocaine and fentanyl, among other drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Authorities found the three dead within two days and Clarke’s husband was found unresponsive.

Clarke was transported to a hospital for a fentanyl overdose where he was in a coma "for a period," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. When Clarke's husband emerged from the coma, prosecutors said he had to relearn how to speak, how to feed himself, how to use the restroom, and how to walk. 

Around Oct. 5, 2019, Clarke's husband reported to New York Police Department personnel that he and his wife had purchased the cocaine from the Cab Louie Delivery Service, according to court documents.

Despite learning of the overdose deaths through a local news article, prosecutors said Tejada saved the article on his phone and continued business operations. Between November 2019 and February 2020, a New York Police Department undercover officer made six controlled purchases of cocaine from the Cab Louie Delivery Service, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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Latest case involving drug courier services

Recent cases involving drug delivery services and overdose deaths have resulted in prison time sentences.

In October 2023, a New Jersey man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for operating a drug courier service that distributed drugs for over seven years. The delivery service sent cocaine secretly laced with fentanyl to three customers across Manhattan, officials said.

The three New York residents all died after consuming the fentanyl mixed into a batch of cocaine.

The leader of another New York drug delivery service, named "Mike's Candyshop," was sentenced to 22 years in prison in August 2022, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The delivery service distributed heroin and cocaine, which was sometimes laced with fentanyl, on-demand to customers in New York City.

Ariel Tavarez was sentenced in connection with distributing narcotics that led to the 2018 death of Colin Kroll, the co-founder of the video hosting service Vine and the trivia game application HQ Trivia, the Drug Enforcement Administration said.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Minnah Arshad and Candy Woodall, USA TODAY