Drug Trafficking Rings Disrupted in Texas
In a major blow to organized crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Texas honored the Celtic Cobra team with the OCDETF National Award for Significant Contribution to Public Safety and Security. This prestigious award acknowledges the outstanding work of prosecutors and agents who dismantled a massive drug trafficking operation that spanned nearly a decade.
The Celtic Cobra operation, which took place from 2011 to 2019, targeted 60 individuals who were involved in drug trafficking and money laundering for several notorious cartels, including La Familia Drug Cartel, Los Caballeros Templarios, Cartel Nueva Generación de Jalisco, Los Zetas Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Puro Tango Blast Prison Gang, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, and Los Paisa’s Prison Gang.
During the operation, undercover agents identified four individuals who used their positions at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to bypass security and smuggle large quantities of narcotics, including methamphetamine, onto commercial airlines. One defendant even agreed to smuggle inert explosives onto cross-country flights, putting the flying public at grave risk.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Dallas Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division worked together to seize approximately 50 firearms, $855,513.00 in cash, $400,000.00 in real and personal property, 1,025 kilograms of methamphetamine, 12 kilos of cocaine, and 33 kilos of heroin.
Of the 60 defendants, all but three were captured. The 57 captured defendants pleaded guilty, with several receiving maximum sentences for money laundering. One defendant received two life sentences in prison for drug trafficking.
The award recipients included Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal, Assistant U.S. Attorney John de la Garza, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kull, FBI Special Agent Robert Benton, and FBI Special Agent Joseph Mathews.
The OCDETF program, established in 1982, aims to reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering the United States and diminish violence associated with the drug trade.
Related Federal Cases
- Lakeva Shillette Hill, Major Drug Trafficking Conspiracy, Texas, 2024 · Texas
- Ruel M Hamilton, Texas Drug Trafficking, Dallas TX, 2019 · Texas
- Cameron Nesbitt, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Texas, 2025 · Texas
- Julie Juarez Faces Life for Methamphetamine Trafficking, Texas, 2024 · Oklahoma
- Unknown Defendant, Drug Trafficking, New York NY, 1983 · Texas
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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