MIAMI – An alleged member of a Guatemala-based drug trafficking organization has been extradited from Guatemala to the Southern District of Florida to face federal charges for his role in an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy spanning four countries. According to court records, from 2012 through 2023, Mauro Ismael Morales Martinez...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Sebastian Higuera-Fuentes, 23, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on Oct. 27, by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Higuera-Fuentes previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. As part of the conspiracy, Higuera-Fuentes...

MIAMI – The leader of Frente 33, part of the FARC dissident group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), a designated foreign terrorist organization, was extradited from Colombia to the Southern District of Florida on Thursday to face federal charges stemming from an alleged international cocaine trafficking...

TUCSON, Ariz. – On Sep. 22, 2026, Senior United States District Judge Raner C. Collins sentenced Amanda Rachelle Miller, 35, of Tucson, to 204 months (17 years) in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, for leading a large-scale drug trafficking organization that distributed fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other dangerous...

MIAMI – Five defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into South Florida aboard sport fishing vessels from the Dominican Republic. According to court records, Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, 32; Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, 32; Keisy Estibet Peguero, 38; Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera, 32; and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez...

MIAMI – Ten defendants have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a South Florida cocaine trafficking conspiracy that involved cocaine supplied by a Mexican drug cartel and others. U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles sentenced Reinaldo Fernandez, 63, to 188 months in federal prison; Javier Garcia-Mora, 40...

Jacksonville, Fla. – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of an Indictment charging 13 defendants—all alleged members and associates of the Slime gang—with crimes including racketeering conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy, murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and retaliating against a witness. Slime was primarily active in the Northside...

Pensacola, Fla. – Arzalea Teshean McLaughlin, 37, Benjamin Eugene Mack, 54, and Roger Cornell Daniels, 38, all of Crestview, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and cocaine base, conspiracy to unlawfully use...

Pensacola, Florida – Jovon “Playa Pat” Booker, 33, of Pensacola, Florida, was convicted by a jury in federal court on one count of discharging a handgun in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and a separate count of possessing firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Prior to the...

Ocala, Fla. – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Billy Boortz (43, Duval Couty, Texas) to five years in federal prison for possession of five grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. According to the...