TAMPA, FL – Three men are staring down the barrel of a life sentence after a federal jury found them guilty of participating in a massive international cocaine smuggling operation. Rudolph Randolph Meighan (28, Belize), Jorge Ramon Newball-May (48, Colombia), and Calbot Reid-Dilbert (59, Colombia) were convicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and one count of possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on that vessel. Sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2019.
The operation, according to evidence presented at trial, involved at least 600 kilograms of cocaine—valued at approximately $18 million—destined for American shores. The trio weren’t lone wolves; they were a crucial part of a larger network originating in Cartagena, Colombia. Randolph Meighan served as the Belizean load guard, while Newball-May and Reid-Dilbert were crewmembers on the smuggling vessel. They were actively plying a notorious cocaine route known as the “Honduras Rise” when the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) intervened.
On December 1, 2018, a USCG HC-130 aircraft, operating out of Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, spotted the go-fast vessel approximately 110 nautical miles southwest of Jamaica, traveling at a dangerously high speed. Facing capture, the smugglers made a desperate, and ultimately futile, attempt to ditch their cargo. They jettisoned roughly 30-to-40 bales of cocaine, tying them to their outboard engines and tossing the engines overboard – effectively disabling their vessel. But the USCG aircrew witnessed the entire act.
The attempt to destroy evidence failed. Later that same day, USCG law enforcement officers from Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) Pacific intercepted and boarded the engine-less vessel. Despite the lost cargo, the search yielded crucial evidence linking the men to cocaine trafficking. Trace amounts of the drug were found on the vessel and on the defendants themselves, sealing their fate. It wasn’t enough cocaine *on* the boat to make a huge bust, but enough to prove their guilt.
The investigation, spearheaded by the Panama Express Strike Force—an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)—brought together a multi-agency coalition including the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South. OCDETF’s primary goal is to dismantle major drug trafficking organizations and cut off the nation’s drug supply.
Nicholas DeRenzo, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and Dan Baeza, Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted the case. A fourth defendant, Emiro Hinestroza-Newbbooll, remains at large and is awaiting trial. The conviction of these three men sends a clear message: moving tons of cocaine into the United States comes with a hefty price, potentially life behind bars.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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