Manuel Salas, Cocaine Trafficking, Virginia 2011

Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking

Manuel Salas, 62, of Barranquilla, Colombia, pleaded guilty to charges relating to his participation in a large-scale Colombian cocaine trafficking organization that bought, stored and transported several tons of cocaine for importation into the United States.

Salas was indicted on Aug. 24, 2011, by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States, along with four counts of distributing five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Salas admitted that he was part of a large-scale Colombian cocaine trafficking organization that purchased cocaine in Colombia for eventual sale in the United States. The group bought several tons of cocaine from a lab in Colombia’s interior.

From there, the group controlled trucks with hidden compartments to transport the cocaine to Colombian ports, including Cartagena and Barranquilla, where the group controlled warehouses. In those warehouses, the cocaine was offloaded from the trucks and loaded into hidden compartments that members of the group constructed in 40-foot maritime shipping containers.

Once the cocaine shipments, consisting of 1,000 to 3,000 kilograms, were loaded into the hidden shipping compartments, those containers were taken to the port, where members of the conspiracy bribed customs officials to allow the containers to pass inspection. Other conspirators created shell companies in Colombia and Honduras, along with falsified export documents, to make the shipments appear legitimate.

Law enforcement in Colombia seized approximately 7,000 kilograms of cocaine associated with this organization. Salas controlled a warehouse in Barranquilla and hired members to construct the hidden compartments and guard the warehouse while the cocaine was being loaded into the shipping containers.

Sentencing for Salas is set for September 19, 2014. Salas faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. This case was investigated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division, with assistance from the Colombian National Police and the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Ben’Ary and Lynn E. Haaland are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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