Norlan Jose Carrasco Lopez, International Cocaine Trafficking, District of Columbia 2021

A Honduran national has been brought to justice for his alleged role in a large-scale international cocaine trafficking operation. Norlan Jose Carrasco Lopez, 54, was extradited from Honduras to the United States on October 13, 2022, and is set to appear in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on October 17.

Carrasco Lopez, also known as ‘Catracho,’ is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess five kilograms or more of cocaine on board an aircraft registered in the United States with intent to distribute and one count of distribution of a controlled substance on board an aircraft registered in the United States.

According to court documents, between September 2018 and June 2021, Carrasco Lopez was allegedly a member of an international drug trafficking organization responsible for importing large quantities of cocaine from Venezuela to Belize aboard U.S. registered aircraft. Foreign law enforcement seized a shipment of more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine that had been transported on a U.S. registered aircraft allegedly coordinated by Carrasco Lopez and his co-conspirators.

A grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment against Carrasco Lopez on June 28, 2021. He was arrested by Honduran authorities in June 2022, pursuant to a provisional arrest requested by the United States, and remained detained in Honduras pending his extradition.

Carrasco Lopez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted of either count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Orlando District Office is investigating with assistance from the DEA Honduras and Belize Country Offices, and Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Orlando District Office.

Former NDDS Trial Attorney Michael Christin, now with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, assisted with the prosecution. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Carrasco Lopez.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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