Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, Cocaine Distribution, Florida 2022

A federal judge has sentenced a Colombian national to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine directly from Colombia to the United States.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William Jung has sentenced Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, a/k/a Francisco Niño, (42, Colombia) to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States.

Gomez-Lubo pleaded guilty on January 11, 2022, for his involvement in the conspiracy, which occurred between September 2017 and 2019.

According to court documents, Gomez-Lubo was part of a group that transported cocaine directly from Colombia, through Central America and the Caribbean, directly to the United States, including Texas, California, Hawaii, and Florida.

The investigation revealed that Gomez-Lubo and others discussed, planned, and executed the transportation of cocaine, including discussing cocaine prices, currency transfers, drug debts, and methods used to avoid apprehension and detection by law enforcement.

The cocaine distributed by Gomez-Lubo and others displayed identifying symbols and marks, which were found in kilograms of cocaine recovered by law enforcement in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

Gomez-Lubo’s co-defendant, Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros, was also indicted and is currently pending trial in Tampa.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support with the defendant’s extradition, and the U.S. Marshals Service also provided critical assistance by extraditing Gerardo Gomez-Lubo from Panama to the Middle District of Florida.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

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