United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Uldarico Narvaez Ansazoy will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on an indictment charging him with participating in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy headed by his brother Roman Narvaez Ansazoy. The defendant was arrested in Colombia pursuant to a request for his extradition, and extradited yesterday to the United States. Roman Narvaez Ansazoy was arrested in September 2019 on charges of leading a continuing criminal enterprise and is awaiting trial in the Eastern District of New York.

Seth D. DuCharme, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division, Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, New York City Police Department, and Keith M. Corlett, Superintendent, New York State Police, announced the extradition and charges.

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendant and his brother operated a substantial Colombian drug-trafficking enterprise that imported multiple tons of cocaine into the United States each month,” stated Acting United States Attorney DuCharme. “The United States stands committed to working with our international partners to dismantle the drug-trafficking organizations responsible for flooding our communities with poison and bringing the individuals who run these operations to justice.” Mr. DuCharme extended his grateful appreciation to the DEA’s offices in Bogota, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Department of State, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Colombian National Police, the Judicial Attaché’s office in Bogota and the Government of Colombia.

“This extradition leads to an unpleasant reunion between brothers, Roman and Uldarico Narvaez Ansazoy, who both have been brought to New York to face U.S. rule of law,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Donovan. “The Narvaez trafficking organization threatened American lives by sending multi-ton quantities of cocaine from the jungles of Colombia to the United States, with assistance from a designated foreign terrorist organization, the FARC. This justice is long overdue, but this investigation is evident of law enforcement’s dedication to the safety and health of the American public.”

“I applaud our law enforcement officials at all levels for their strong police work in this case and for their continued dedication to preventing the trafficking of cocaine and other harmful narcotics within our communities. This indictment and the disruption of this international illegal drug trafficking operation sends a clear message that we will find and punish the people who are responsible for producing and transporting these illegal substances to our streets,” stated NYSP Superintendent Corlett.

According to the indictment, Narvaez and his brother were founders and principal leaders of the Narvaez drug trafficking organization responsible for producing multi-ton quantities of cocaine on a monthly basis in jungle laboratories in the Cauca region of Colombia. At its peak, the organization was one of the top producers of cocaine in Colombia. The cocaine was transported to Colombian port cities on the Pacific Ocean through jungle area routes protected by paramilitary groups paid by the Narvaez for safe passage. One of the paramilitary groups was the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The vast majority of the cocaine the organization delivered was destined for the United States.

The extradition of Narvaez is the result of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation by the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force comprising agents and officers of the DEA, NYPD, and NYSP as well as the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorney Francisco J. Navarro is in charge of the prosecution. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs handled the extradition in this case.

The Defendant:

ULDARICO NARVAEZ ANSAZOY

Age: 41

Antioquia, Colombia

Defendant Previously Indicted:

ROMAN NARVAEZ ANSAZOY

Age: 45

Antioquia, Colombia

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-048 (S-1) (BMC)