United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEWARK, N.J. - - Carl J. Kotowski, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division and Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey announced a Colombian cartel leader expelled from Venezuela to face federal
charges in New Jersey for his role in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy was
sentenced to 132 months in prison.

Colombian national Salomon Camacho Mora, 71, a/k/a “Papa Grande,” a/k/a “El Viejo,” a/k/a “Hector,” was arrested in Valencia, Venezuela, on Jan. 13, 2010, and subsequently expelled by Venezuelan authorities to the United States. Camacho was originally indicted in September 2002 in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and had been designated a Consolidated Priority Organization (CPOT) by the Department of Justice. He was a New
Jersey FBI fugitive for more than eight years.

On Oct. 15, 2014, Camacho pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to Count Seven of a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit narcotics trafficking. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

Camacho admitted that he and members of his drug organization purchased multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from processing laboratories located in Colombia and arranged for the transportation of the cocaine to various shipping ports in Venezuela. Camacho and members of his drug organization then sold the cocaine shipments to other drug trafficking organizations operating in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the United States.

He also acknowledged that others in his organization received and stored the drug shipments in Venezuela, and arranged for their maritime transportation to Puerto Rico and the United States.

Camacho must also forfeit $1.6 million and eight Colombian properties that were the product of ill-gotten gains.

U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the Drug Enforcement (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski in Newark; FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and the New Jersey National Guard Anti-Narcotics Task Force for the investigation.