United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BROOKLYN, NY - Santos Roman Narvaez Ansazoy will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on charges of leading a continuing criminal enterprise. The defendant was arrested in Colombia on a provisional arrest warrant and was extradited yesterday from Colombia to the United States.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Raymond P. Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division, James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department, and Keith M. Corlett, Superintendent, New York State Police, announced the extradition.

“The defendant will now face charges in an American courtroom for leading a major Colombian drug trafficking organization that imported huge quantities of cocaine into the United States,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “We will cooperate with law enforcement here and abroad to dismantle drug rings that flood our streets and neighborhoods with lethal drugs.” Mr. Donoghue extended his grateful appreciation to the assistance provided by 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 and the Government of Colombia.

“For years, Roman Narvaez Ansazoy allegedly participated in a conspiracy to facilitate the distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine throughout the United States,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Donovan. “Ansazoy’s arrest and extradition demonstrate the commitment of the United States and our partners in Colombia to bring to justice drug traffickers who fuel narco-terrorism and seek to flood our streets with addictive and deadly poisons.”

 “I commend the members of the Task Force for their outstanding work on this case. All of the agencies involved are committed to taking down any criminal enterprise that imports these dangerous drugs into our county, and we will continue to collaborate on that mission. We simply will not tolerate this type of activity,” said NYSP Superintendent Corlett.

According to the indictment, Narvaez was a founder and principal leader of a drug trafficking organization in Colombia responsible for producing multi-ton quantities of cocaine, on a monthly basis, in jungle laboratories in the Cauca region of Colombia. The cocaine was then transported to Colombian ports on the Pacific coastline under the protection of paramilitary groups paid by Narvaez, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The cocaine was then shipped by sea, primarily to the United States.

The extradition of Narvaez is the result of an ongoing investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force. The DETF is comprised of agents and officers of the DEA, NYSP, and NYPD.  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 matter.

The Defendant:

SANTOS ROMAN NARVAEZ ANSAZOY (also known as “Roman Narvaez Ansazoy”)

Age: 45

Cauca, Colombia

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