Guatemalan National Indicted on International Cocaine Trafficking and Maritime Smuggling Charges
SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed in San Diego today against Guatemalan national Axel Bladimir Montejo Saenz, aka “Mosh,” aka “Kraken.”
The indictment returned on November 1, 2018, charges Montejo Saenz with Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Intended for Unlawful Importation and Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine on Board a Vessel. Montejo Saenz remains a fugitive.
The indictment alleges that the conspiracy continued up to and including November 2018 and involved the distribution of cocaine in the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and elsewhere.
“DEA and our law enforcement partners are determined to bring members of transnational criminal organizations that inundate our country with cocaine to justice in the United States,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “We will continue to work with our foreign partners to stop the importation of illicit drugs.
“Today marks another important step in disrupting the corridor of illicit drug trafficking from Central America into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “This complex, multi-agency investigation demonstrates the breadth of the Department’s mission to stop the flow of narcotics well before they reach our shores.”
“This high-level indictment highlights the success of HSI’s collaborative efforts with the government of Guatemala and all of our foreign and domestic law enforcement partners. This partnership has resulted in significant seizures of narcotics, firearms and U.S. Currency from international cartels,” said Chad Plantz, Special Agent in Charge for HSI San Diego. “HSI is committed to bringing international drug trafficking cartel members to justice and to dismantling these criminal organizations.”
AGENCIES: United States Attorney’s Office; Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Coast Guard; HSI Attaché Guatemala City, Guatemala; HSI Attaché Mexico City Mexico; Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs; Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations; Joint Task Force-Investigations; Joint Interagency Task Force-South; U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Control
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