SCRANTON, PA — Moises Vargas-Olivio, age 22, of Olyphant, Lackawanna County, was sentenced on August 11, 2023, by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, to eight years imprisonment on the charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Vargas-Olivio previously pleaded guilty and admitted to possessing a loaded .357 Magnum revolver, a loaded .22 caliber handgun, and an illegal “sawed-off” shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches in length, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charge stems from an incident on May 22, 2022, in which Lackawanna County Detectives and members of the Olyphant Police Department made a purchase of cocaine from Vargas-Olivio and then obtained a search warrant for Vargas-Olivio’s residence in Olyphant. A search of the residence resulted in the seizure of an additional amount of cocaine packaged for distribution, approximately $20,000 in U.S. currency, numerous pills, marijuana, two loaded handguns, and a loaded “sawed-off” shotgun.
The investigation was conducted by Lackawanna County Detectives, the Olyphant Police Department, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert J. O’Hara and Brian J. Gallagher prosecuted the case.
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