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Two Venezuelans Guilty of Cocaine Trafficking in New York
A federal jury in New York has found Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas guilty of conspiring to import over 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. The two men, both nephews of the First Lady of Venezuela, were convicted after a two-week trial.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Campo Flores and Flores de Freitas worked with others in Venezuela and elsewhere to dispatch large loads of cocaine via aircraft from Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. In early October 2015, an individual cooperating with the DEA reported to the agency that a Honduran national had introduced them to the two Venezuelans, who were interested in sending cocaine-laden aircraft with legitimate-seeming flight plans from Venezuela to Honduras.
The defendants were arrested on November 10, 2015, at the Haitian airport, after flying on a private jet to collect a multi-million-dollar payment for the cocaine. They were expelled from Haiti and flown to Westchester County International Airport in White Plains, New York, on a DEA jet.
Campo Flores and Flores de Freitas were found guilty of conspiracy to import five or more kilograms of cocaine into the United States from a foreign country and distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, praised the outstanding work of the DEA in the investigation and prosecution of the case.
Campo Flores, 30, and Flores de Freitas, 31, are currently in federal custody and will be sentenced at a later date. They face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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