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...

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...

SAN DIEGO -Josue Adan Lemus-Lara, aka “Fenix,” was sentenced in federal court today to 260 months in prison. His sentence follows his conviction after a week-long jury trial in November 2023 where he was convicted on all charges in a maritime cocaine trafficking conspiracy. During a multi-year wiretap investigation led...

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...

SAN DIEG O - Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, aka Gato, an Ecuadorian national and alleged drug trafficker, made his first appearance in federal court today following his extradition to the United States from Colombia yesterday. At the hearing, Sanchez Farfan entered a not guilty plea. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L...

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...

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...

TAMPA, Fla. - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury found Hector Caballero (70, Venezuela) guilty of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as well as possessing with the intent to distribute...

SAN DIEGO – Four sons of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the imprisoned former Sinaloa Cartel leader known as El Chapo, were indicted by a federal grand jury for large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering and violent crimes in connection with their assumption of cartel leadership following their father’s arrest and extradition to...