Providence Man Sentenced for Trafficking Cocaine
PROVIDENCE – A Providence man has been sentenced in federal court in Rhode Island for trafficking kilos of cocaine, announced United States Attorney Charles C. Calenda.
Eluid Rosa-Escudero, 35, was sentenced on January 21, 2026, by U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy to 24 months of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. Rosa-Escudero pleaded guilty on September 10, 2025, to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Court documents reflect that a three-month, multi-agency investigation into Rosa-Escudero’s drug trafficking activities culminated on April 10, 2025, with the execution of a court-authorized seizure of a package containing over two kilograms of cocaine and a search of his Providence residence, resulting in the seizure of over $10,000 in cash and other items associated with narcotics trafficking.
Leading up to the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement intercepted a package containing the cocaine, which was removed from the package. Law enforcement then surveilled the retrieval of the same package (with the cocaine removed) delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to the front porch of a Providence residence. The package was retrieved by an individual who arrived by car and later drove to a nearby gas station, where the driver met with Rosa-Escudero, who was travelling in a separate vehicle. As the two vehicles departed, a law enforcement surveillance team followed Rosa-Escudero to his residence. East Providence Police subsequently conducted an investigative stop of the vehicle driven by the individual who retrieved the package from the porch of the residence, who was identified as a 15-year-old juvenile.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christine D. Lowell and G. Michael Seaman.
The matter was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service Contraband Interdiction and Investigations Task Force, with the assistance of the Providence, East Providence and Pawtucket Police Departments, and the Rhode Island State Police.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).