News Releases and Statements

Leonardo Estrada, 41, will serve the next 288 months in prison. He pleaded guilty May 22, 2023.

Olvin Javier Velasquez Maldonado, 39, allegedly conspired to transport approximately 24 kilograms of cocaine from Honduras to the U.S. on a vessel attempting to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals into the country. This operation was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard in February 2022, about 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana after the vessel, M/V Pop, developed engine trouble.

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces interdicted and announced the seizure of more than 44,550 pounds of cocaine and 3,880 pounds marijuana valued at approximately $509.9 million as part of the joint multiagency Panama Express Strike Force mission in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

An investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; along with the Virginia State Police; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office ​for the Eastern District of Virginia, led to the sentencing of Jamaican national Kirkville Virgo, 47, March 28, to 14 years in prison for attempting to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Antonio Espinoza Zarate, 55, also known as “El Gato,” and his son, Francisco Javier Espinoza Galindo, 31, were arrested and charged in U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

Noe Gonzalez-Martinez, also known as Tocayo, 41, will serve the rest of his life plus 60 months in federal prison for his role in multiple convictions related to a murder-for-hire scheme that brought three sicarios, or hitmen, across the U.S. border into Laredo.

Sergio Humberto Ramos, 73, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, admitting that he was paid to store the drugs at a trucking yard near Nogales until they could be transported.

Marvin Murphy, 48, of Philadelphia, was convicted on March 18 after a two-day bench trial at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden. Murphy was remanded into custody after the verdict.

Emmanuel F. Almonte Mejia, 40, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 60 months, Feb. 27 and Hector Luiz De La Cruz Nunez, 32, was sentenced to 60 months, Feb. 5 by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Both men and co-conspirator, Loanny F. Duran Hiciano, 37, previously plead guilty for their roles in a Philadelphia area drug mill.

Jose Bibiano Cabrera-Cabrera, 37 and Jesus Humberto Limon-Lopez, 43, were taken into U.S. custody after members of drug cartels were recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo.

According to court documents, around 2022, agents with ICE Nashville, FBI, and DEA began investigating large shipments of counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills that were inscribed “M30,” methamphetamine, and marijuana that someone was shipping to Tennessee and approximately 16 other states from California.

According to the plea agreements, the Drug Enforcement Administration identified a group of individuals working to distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine and the proceeds of those sales during 2022.

A Houston woman was sentenced following her conviction for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl following an investigation conducted by ICE in coordination with CBP.

Gregorio Gustavo DeJesus-Santos, 59, received the lengthy prison sentence Feb. 27 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond.

Jorge Alberto Galindo-Vargas, 44, illegally residing in Mission, Texas, was sentenced Feb. 20 by Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to serve 210 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

Salvador Noyola, 56, from Mission, Texas, was sentenced Feb. 20 by Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to serve 188 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

Anastacio Santiago Chaparro, aka Arnoldo Urquidez, 41, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and illegal reentry by a convicted felon, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey announced on Feb. 7.

On Jan. 29, William Panzera, 51, of North Haledon, New Jersey was convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy and international promotional money laundering conspiracy at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The arrest unfolded after agents discovered information on the whereabouts of one of the illegal alien who was previously convicted for a felony, after fleeing the scene of an accident involving a death/serious injuries.

Baldemar Cardenas, 39, from McAllen, was sentenced Jan. 28 by Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to serve 46 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 50, and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, 43, each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.