Alexandria, VA – In a significant blow to international narcotics trafficking, three foreign nationals have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
Humberto Cantillo Duran, a 37-year-old Colombian national, along with Honduran nationals Mario Rodolfo Mejia-Cubillas, 54, and Edgardo Rene Velasquez Navarro, 54, led a massive cocaine trafficking operation based in Colón, Honduras.
The conspiracy, which lasted for years, involved the distribution of thousands of kilograms of cocaine valued at millions of dollars into the United States. The operation received shipments of cocaine from South America, which were then forwarded through Central America and ultimately into the United States.
Cantillo Duran, based in Colombia and Honduras, played a key role in coordinating the shipment of large amounts of cocaine from Colombia to Honduras. He also assisted in finding buyers, including Mejia-Cubillas and Velasquez Navarro.
Once the cocaine arrived in Honduras, it was unloaded, broken down, and prepared for transport across Honduras. Mejia-Cubillas, Velasquez Navarro, and Cantillo Duran supervised the process.
Over the years, Honduran law enforcement captured communications between the conspirators discussing cocaine shipments, payments, acts of violence towards suspected rival narcotraffickers, South American sources of supply, the U.S. market for cocaine, and the United States being the ultimate destination for their cocaine. On several occasions, Honduran law enforcement seized large shipments of cocaine moved by the co-conspirators.
On March 11, Velasquez Navarro was sentenced to 12 years in prison. On April 1, Mejia-Cubillas was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison. Cantillo Duran was sentenced to 15 years in prison yesterday.
Related Federal Cases
- Michael Pankey, Cocaine and Heroin Trafficking, Virginia 2024 · North Carolina
- Leroy B.K. Wilson, Cocaine and Heroin Trafficking, Huntington WV, 2023 · Michigan
- Mario D. Ervin, 28g Crack Cocaine Trafficking, OH, 2023 · Texas
- Donald Cantrell, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia, 2023 · Texas
- Daniel N. Hallingshead, Heroin and Cocaine Trafficking, OH · Virginia
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Drug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug Trafficking