Eight members of Puerto Rico-based drug trafficking organization convicted | USAO-MDFL

Tampa, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew sentenced eight members of a Puerto Rico-based drug trafficking organization to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Tampa Bay area . Each of the eight individuals had previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows:

The court also ordered Luis Agosto-Morales to forfeit $24,587, which is attributable to the proceeds of the offense.

According to court documents, the individuals were part of an organization that trafficked cocaine delivered from Puerto Rico via packages sent to the Middle District of Florida. Proceeds from cocaine sales were given to Raymond Jose De La Cruz and Jose Manuel Robles Negron, to be returned to Jacques Orsini-Martinez and others in Puerto Rico. The cocaine sent from Puerto Rico was supplied via a transnational criminal organization operating in and around the Dominican Republic and Colombia. Juan Carlos Orsini-Martinez was in federal prison at the time of the conspiracy, but used a contraband cell phone to discuss payment for drug proceeds in Puerto Rico.

This operation is part of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OECDTF) conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Department Tampa police. He was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Diego Novaes and Dan Baeza.

The OECDTF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OECDTF program is available at www.justice.gov/OECDTF.