On March 26 Cesar Augusto Romero Caballero, of Colombia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge James Moody Jr. for conspiracy to distribute cocaine having reasonable cause to believe it would be unlawfully imported into the United States. Romero Caballero pleaded guilty on April 8...

TAMPA, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 50, of Colombia, and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, 43, also of Colombia, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date...

NEWARK, N.J. – A Columbian citizen admitted conspiring to import 15 kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Columbia, DEA New York Division Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino, and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Savier Cervantes, 37, of Cartagena, Colombia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn...

MIAMI – On July 29, Jordan Curry, 42, an Australian national from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to launder money and import cocaine from South America through the United States to Australia. According to the agreed upon factual proffer, from 2019 to 2021...

NEW YORK CITY - An investigation into interstate narcotics trafficking resulted in the seizure of approximately 20 kilograms (nearly 45 pounds) of cocaine worth more than $1 million from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Members of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force tracked the vehicle from Connecticut through New York...

TAMPA, F la. – U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara has sentenced Alonso Pineda-Torres (52, Colombia), a/k/a “Galladita,” to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine on board vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Pineda-Torres entered a guilty plea on October...

TAMPA , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Nestor Hugo Gomez-Garcia (38, Colombia), a/k/a “Simon,” “Guava,” and “Guavita,” pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up...

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Today, Alexander Valencia Garcia will be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Marcia M. Henry at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on an indictment charging him with two counts of international cocaine distribution. On November 7, 2023, the defendant, a Colombian citizen, was arrested in Florida on...

TAMPA , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has found Javier Monserrate Vazquez (46, Wesley Chapel) guilty of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy against the United States, obstruction of justice, witness tampering...

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Martin Leonel Perez Castro, also known as “Richard,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiracy to distribute cocaine internationally, intending and knowing that the cocaine would be illegally imported into the United States. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Brian M...