Juan Carlos Torres-Arzapalo, Drug Conspiracy, Georgia 2025

A member of the Sinaloa Cartel has been sentenced to prison for his role in a massive drug trafficking ring in the Columbus region of Georgia.

Juan Carlos Torres-Arzapalo, 41, of Mexico and in the United States illegally, was sentenced to serve 135 months in prison on May 6, 2025, after he previously pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy on October 27, 2025.

Torres-Arzapalo is subject to deportation upon completion of his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

The sentencing comes as part of Operation Sweet Silence, a campaign targeting violent crime and drug trafficking tied to criminal organizations in the Columbus region.

Federal and local law enforcement conducted Operation Sweet Silence from August 2022 until May 2024, an extensive investigation into the illegal activities of the Zohannon criminal street gang and other criminal street gangs in Columbus, including US World, the Crips, the Bloods, and the Gangster Disciples, involving armed drug trafficking with ties to two Mexican cartels.

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, agents learned that Torres-Arzapalo, a confirmed Sinaloa Cartel member, was working with co-defendant Ulises Cervantes, a multi-kilo level cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana dealer, to distribute these drugs in the Middle District of Georgia.

Over a court-authorized wiretap, agents heard Cervantes contract one of his California drug suppliers for kilogram pricing of drugs on September 27, 2023, with Torres-Arzapalo in the background discussing the purchase, requesting information from the caller for the cost of around 'fifty' of the 'hielo,' which refers to 50 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Agents intercepted additional calls between Torres-Arzapalo, Cervantes, and a third party discussing a large marijuana deal on September 28, 2023.

The investigation represents the very best of law enforcement collaboration, said Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. 'Federal, state, and local partners worked side by side for years to uncover the full scope of this criminal enterprise and ensure every individual responsible faced justice.'

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/sinaloa-cartel-member-sentenced-another-operation-sweet-silence-case