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Special Report: Drug Trafficker Indicted on 8 Counts

Jose Garcia pleaded not guilty to all charges

Garcia is facing eight counts, including operating as a major drug trafficker.

Jose Garcia, the Rye resident charged in March with running a New York City-based fentanyl and heroin trafficking ring, is now facing new charges that he operated as a major trafficker — the most serious drug charge under state law. 

Garcia, 51, pleaded not guilty to all charges following his indictment in Manhattan Supreme Court on April 29 and currently is being held on Rikers Island. He could face up to a life sentence, with a minimum sentence of 15 years, according Kati Cornell, the New York City special narcotics prosecutor's director of public information. 

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When the Rye resident was arrested, he was initially charged only with one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree, according to Cornell. 

But during his March 21 arraignment, prosecutors had warned that they were planning to tack on additional hefty charges. 

-by Rosie Newmark