Sinaloa Cartel Determine Pleads Not Responsible to Drug Fees

[ad_1] A senior member of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel who was extradited from Mexico to Atlanta earlier this month pleaded not responsible on Friday to cocaine trafficking expenses, the Division of Justice introduced.

Roberto Najera Gutierrez, often known as "Kunfu Panda" and "La Gallina" (Spanish for "the hen"), pleaded not responsible within the Northern District of Georgia to a federal cost of conspiring to fabricate and distribute cocaine that he knew can be imported into the U.S., the DOJ stated in a information launch.

"Because of President Trump's management and our courageous DEA brokers, the cartels are now not free to import poison into our communities," Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi stated within the launch.

She counseled the Workplace of Worldwide Affairs for facilitating the extradition of what DOJ referred to as an "alleged narco-terrorist."

Theodore Hertzberg, the U.S. lawyer for the Northern District of Georgia, stated Najera Gutierrez was a senior determine within the cartel, answerable for coordinating the motion of huge shipments of cocaine from South America by way of Mexico and into U.S. cities together with Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and elements of Florida and California.

Prosecutors alleged he led and coordinated the transportation of multi-kilograms of cocaine by boat from Colombia and Ecuador to Honduras and Guatemala.

As soon as the medicine have been in Central America, they have been smuggled throughout the Guatemalan border into Mexico.

Najera Gutierrez allegedly distributed that cocaine to different high-level drug traffickers in Mexico. who imported the cocaine into the U.S. He additionally allegedly coordinated the gathering and switch of drug proceeds by way of financial institution accounts.

The Sinaloa Cartel, which operates transnationally, was designated a overseas terrorist group and specifically designated international terrorist on Feb. 20 by the Trump administration, underscoring it as a serious risk to nationwide safety and public security.

The indictment stemmed from a long-running Drug Enforcement Administration investigation that started in 2013 focusing on cartel networks trafficking cocaine into the U.S., the DOJ stated.

Najera Gutierrez now faces many years in jail if convicted; he stays in federal custody as his case proceeds.

"This indictment is a part of a multi-agency collaboration devoted to dismantling transnational prison organizations answerable for drug trafficking and violence," stated Jae Chung, particular agent in control of the DEA's Atlanta Division, highlighting cooperative efforts by the DEA, IRS Prison Investigation, U.S. Marshals, and different federal companions.

The prosecution is a part of Operation Take Again America, a DOJ initiative geared toward combating unlawful immigration, cartel exercise, and violent transnational crime, and displays heightened federal deal with drug trafficking organizations that endanger U.S. communities.

Michael Katz ✉ Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with greater than 30 years of expertise reporting and enhancing on information, tradition, and politics.