Operation Lost Paradise nets 15 arrests for drug trafficking, money laundering
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — In a major multi-agency operation, dubbed Lost Paradise, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested 15 people Dec. 23 for drug trafficking and money laundering. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Department assisted with the operation.
"HSI will continue to aggressively focus its efforts on investigating those money laundering schemes that allow these criminals to exploit the financial infrastructure to bankroll their activities while they enjoy the assets produced by their illicit activity," said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. "Organized crime is all about money and we will follow the money trail to disable their criminal activities and seize their assets. This is how we truly dismantle transnational criminal organizations."
The criminal indictment, unsealed in federal court Tuesday, includes a narcotics forfeiture allegation and money laundering forfeiture allegation totaling at least $1 billion of real estate and personal property including 65 houses, six apartment buildings, 10 lots of land and four commercial businesses located in Puerto Rico as well as a luxury apartment in Florida, 15 cars, two motor vessels, U.S. currency, firearms and gold jewelry.
According to the indictment, Carlos Morales-Davila, Jose Silva-Rentas, Luis Lopez-Fernandez, Jaime Serrano-Cardona, Randy Barbosa-Martinez, Julio Colon-Maldonado, Jorge Acevedo-Martinez, Francisco Pimentel-Maldonado, Alexis Sanchez-Diaz, Jose Claudio-Del Valle, Luis Santana-Mendoza, Jorge Bobonis-Rexach, Felipe Gomez-Encarnacion and Hector Orta-Castro conspired to import cocaine and heroin into the United States from Venezuela, Colombia and Dominican Republic. The indictment charges Eduardo Santiago-Orta, Juan R. Zalduondo-Viera and Carlos Alvarado-Encarnacion with money laundering offenses only.
The indictment includes a narcotics forfeiture allegation and money laundering forfeiture allegation totaling at least $1 billion of real estate and personal property including 65 houses, six apartment buildings, 10 lots of land and four commercial businesses located in Puerto Rico as well as a luxury apartment in Florida, 15 cars, two motor vessels, U.S. currency, firearms and gold jewelry.
As part of the drug trafficking conspiracy, members of the drug trafficking organization used the island of Vieques as the principal smuggling area of narcotics by moving the contraband via ferry from Vieques to Puerto Rico. Some members transported the narcotics from Vieques to Fajardo and from Fajardo to a farm located near Las Piedras to be distributed to other members of the conspiracy, or in some instances, to other drug owners who hired the organization’s smuggling services.
The indictment further alleges the co-conspirators had many roles in order to further the goals of the drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy. Some of the defendants would routinely possess, carry, brandish and use firearms to protect themselves and the drug trafficking organization. They would use force, violence, threats, and intimidation in order to discipline members of their own organization. The indictment charges 10 members of the organization with conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and 14 with conspiracy to commit money laundering to conceal and disguise the proceeds of drug trafficking activity.
Some of the mechanisms used to launder the illegal proceeds derived from the conspiracy included the construction and development of housing complexes, construction and leasing of a regional campus for a university in Puerto Rico, purchasing real estate or personal property, purchasing vehicles and vessels as well as money orders, making large deposits in U.S. currency and making structured cash deposits in financial institutions.
Counts 5 through 16 of the indictment detail the monetary transactions made by Carlos Morales-Davila, Luis Santana-Mendoza and Juan R. Zalduondo-Viera. From Sept. 30, 2011, until May 29, 2012, these three individuals deposited in Banco Santander and Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito La Puertorriqueña approximately $2,814,040.00 in cash. Counts 17 to 19 charge Zalduondo-Viera with structuring transactions with a domestic financial institution for approximately $58,504.00 in cash.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected money laundering and weapons and narcotics smuggling by calling 1-866-DHS-2ICE or visiting www.ICE.gov/tips.
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