Dominican National Pleads Guilty To Multi-Year Conspiracy To Traffic Cocaine Into The United States

Tampa, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Elyn Carpio-Pena (47, Dominican Republic) has pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. Carpio-Pena faces a minimum of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, between October 2014 and May 2019, while residing in Mexico, Carpio-Pena served as an intermediary between drug suppliers in Mexico and wholesale narcotics purchasers in the United States, connecting the sellers and buyers and receiving a commission for each kilogram of cocaine purchased in the United States. Carpio-Pena also arranged for the drug proceeds to be laundered.

In May 2019, Carpio-Pena moved from Mexico to the La Guajira area of Colombia. While there, he organized the maritime smuggling of cocaine from Colombia to the Dominican Republic with the ultimate destination often being the United States. Not only did Carpio-Pena serve as the intermediary between the cocaine buyers and cocaine owners, but he also arranged, organized, and coordinated the maritime cocaine shipments from Colombia to the Dominican Republic. Carpio-Pena was responsible for no fewer than 20 maritime cocaine shipments during his time living in Colombia, totaling at least 5,000 kilograms. Two of these cocaine shipments were interdicted and seized in Puerto Rico.

In October 2021, Carpio-Pena left Colombia and returned home to the Dominican Republic where he continued to coordinate drug shipments. For the next three months, until January 2022, he received cocaine from Colombia via maritime vessel over the Caribbean Ocean no fewer than three times, totaling approximately 900 kilograms. The ultimate destination for this cocaine was often the United States.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi- jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Pardo.