CONCORD – A notorious Sinaloa Cartel member has been found guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas. Rafael Humberto Celaya Valenzuela, 41, formerly of Sonora, Mexico, was convicted following a jury trial of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. The cartel member held himself out as an attorney and financial planner working on behalf of cartel leader Joaquin Guzman-Loera, also known as “Chapo.”
Celaya Valenzuela and his co-conspirators were seeking new cocaine distribution routes from South America to Europe, Canada and the United States. Beginning in early 2010 and continuing through August 2012, undercover FBI agents posing as members of a European organized crime syndicate met with the cartel representatives. Many of the meetings were audio and video recorded and portions of those recordings were played for the jury.
The recordings showed Celaya Valenzuela and several co-conspirators attending meetings in Miami, Boston, Madrid, Spain, and in Portsmouth and New Castle, New Hampshire. On July 27, 2012, the conspirators delivered 346 kilograms of cocaine, more than 750 pounds worth millions of dollars, to a port in Algeciras, Spain. The cocaine was shipped via cargo container in boxes that purportedly held glassware.
The FBI seized the cocaine, and Celaya Valenzuela, Manuel Gutierrez Guzman, Samuel Zazueta Valenzuela and Jesus Palazuelos Soto were arrested by Spanish law enforcement in Madrid on Aug. 7, 2012. The defendants were then extradited to New Hampshire. Manuel Gutierrez Guzman, Samuel Zazueta Valenzuela and Jesus Palazuelos Soto pleaded guilty before trial.
A sentencing hearing for Soto is scheduled for Dec. 22, 2014. Sentencing hearings for Manuel Gutierrez Guzman and Samuel Zazueta Valenzuela are scheduled for Jan. 15, 2015. Celaya Valenzuela’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2015. All the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
“Today’s guilty verdict, together with the guilty pleas of the defendant’s co-conspirators, demonstrates our commitment to disrupting and dismantling international drug trafficking organizations,” said U.S. Attorney Kacavas. “Whether along our southwest border, in major American cities, or in bucolic New Hampshire, we will use every law enforcement and prosecutorial tool at our disposal to bring international drug traffickers to justice.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance with the extradition. The case was prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Don Feith.
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Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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