BOSTON — Gabriele Biondo, a/k/a El Italiano, 43, an Italian national, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to orchestrating a transnational cocaine smuggling ring that moved multi-hundred-kilogram shipments across the Atlantic via maritime vessels. The operation, which stretched from Colombia to Spain, relied on coded signals, offshore rendezvous, and sailboats disguised as leisure craft to deliver its deadly cargo.
Biondo admitted to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on board a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and one count of actual possession and distribution of the same. Extradited from Spain and first appearing in Boston federal court on Feb. 21, 2019, Biondo is now facing life in prison, a life term of supervised release, and a $10 million fine on each count.
Since at least 2013, Biondo and his co-conspirators ran a well-oiled machine moving Colombian cocaine by boat from Venezuela to Spain, Puerto Rico, and beyond. Co-defendant Henry Carrillo Ramirez sourced the drugs in Catatumbo, Colombia, and organized transport to Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. From there, small boats met offshore fishing vessels using pre-arranged coordinates, times, and a secret code word—then transferred the drugs for transatlantic shipment.
In June 2014, the cartel delivered a staggering 1,200 kilograms of cocaine to Spain. Biondo arranged for sailboats to smuggle the load after it was divided—800 kilograms and 400 kilograms—at a stash house on Isla Margarita. The first shipment, costing $640,000 to move, left Grenada and reached Spain. The second followed a day later. Both succeeded.
Two months later, in August 2014, the operation unraveled when Colombian National Police intercepted communications about another shipment. Biondo tracked the vessel carrying 960 kilos until the Spanish Guardia Civil boarded it in international waters and seized the drugs. In December 2014, another 800-kilogram load was sent—only for 728 kilos to be seized by Spanish authorities on Dec. 30.
In total, law enforcement intercepted approximately 1,688 kilograms of cocaine tied to the syndicate. Biondo is the second defendant to plead guilty. Charges remain pending against two others, while one co-defendant remains a fugitive. The case was announced by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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