Thirteen Atlanta-Based Members of a Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization Convicted and Sentenced to Federal Prison

ATLANTA – Thirteen members of a drug-trafficking cell which used passenger buses to smuggle staggering amounts of illegal drugs from Mexico to communities in the Northern District of Georgia have been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“After distributing these deadly drugs in the Atlanta area and elsewhere, the traffickers then shipped hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money back to Mexico,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn.  “This case stands as a disturbing example of Atlanta’s role as a trans-shipment hub for the Mexican cartels as they package drugs for distribution across the East Coast and collect the proceeds for transportation back to Mexico.  Due to the tremendous cooperative effort between federal agencies and local law enforcement, this drug organization has been dismantled, and its members are in federal prison.”

“Methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine are highly addictive plagues that drug traffickers inflict upon law-abiding communities without any regard for the violence and destruction that often accompany their use,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta Nick S. Annan. “The boldness of this criminal group reflected a callous disregard for public safety that seriously underestimated the dedication of HSI and its federal, state and local law enforcement partners to identify and seek prosecution of those engaged in this criminal conspiracy.”

“The role of IRS Criminal Investigation in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can financially disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations,” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation.  “The sentences handed down today, mark the successful end of an investigation and serve as a strong message to individuals throughout the region that we will not stand for the destruction that drugs and related criminal activity bring to our communities. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to provide its financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Atenogenes Alvarado-Delgado, who was initially based in Mexico, directed his brother, Jose Alvarado-Delgado, and associate, Reberiano Arroyo-Santana, in connection with the importation of large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin into the Atlanta, Georgia, area from Mexico. 

The investigation revealed that this organization used passenger buses, owned by Alejandro Carmona, to transport the drugs from Puebla, Mexico, across the border into the United States, and directly to the Atlanta area.  The drugs were often concealed inside of non-functioning batteries stored on the buses.  Alan Arnold Lopez traveled on the drug-filled buses on numerous occasions to ensure their safe passage.  Aside from Lopez and the bus drivers, Carmona’s buses traveled thousands of miles between Atlanta and Mexico without any paying passengers.  

Once the buses arrived in Atlanta, they were concealed in local warehouses where Jose Cardenas-Garcia off-loaded the drugs concealed within secret compartments in the buses. Jose Antonio Pineda-Maldonado, Rufino Pineda-Perez, Ranferi Pineda-Campos and Miguel Salinas distributed the drugs in the Atlanta area.  The drugs were also stored in local residences, including a house in Lilburn, Georgia occupied by Jose Ocampo-Jaimes. 

During the investigation, which commenced in October 2013, law enforcement seized approximately 644 pounds of methamphetamine, 37 kilograms of heroin, 27 kilograms of cocaine, and $680,000 in drug proceeds, which included the following seizures:

• October 8, 2013, agents observed Jose Pineda-Maldonado meet with Miguel Salinas in a parking lot located at 2450 Cumberland Pkwy near Vinings, Georgia.Agents followed Salinas onto Interstate 285 east to Buford Highway, where officers of the Doraville Police Department conducted a traffic stop.Salinas attempted to flee on foot, but was quickly apprehended.A search of Salinas’s vehicle revealed over 17 kilograms of methamphetamine, or “ice”.

   

• October 11, 2013, agents seized 54 kilograms of “ice” methamphetamine pursuant to a search warrant of an apartment on Cleburne Parkway in Hiram, Georgia, and 37 kilograms of cocaine and 18 kilograms of heroin pursuant to a search warrant of an apartment on Cumberland Parkway in Cobb County, Georgia.

   

• December 7, 2013, agents observed Yarley Pineda board a bus at 4600 South Atlanta Road, near Smyrna, Georgia, that was destined for Mexico. Later that day, officers with the Alabama Drug Task Force conducted a traffic stop of the bus and discovered $145,000 in drug money concealed in hollowed out shoes in Yarley Pineda’s suitcase.

   

• January 3, 2014, Jose Pineda-Maldonado delivered five kilograms of methamphetamine to a customer of Blanca Hernandez.Shortly thereafter, Pineda-Maldonado was stopped by the Cobb County Police on the East-West Connector in Cobb County.A search of the car revealed a suitcase with three commercial batteries in the back seat and seven more batteries in the trunk. Agents disassembled the batteries and found six bricks of methamphetamine in each battery, with a total weight of 51 kilograms of methamphetamine.

   

• January 4, 2014, law enforcement responded to an explosion at an apartment on Jameson Pass in Alpharetta, Georgia, which was used by the organization as a methamphetamine laboratory. A search of the apartment revealed a large quantity of liquid methamphetamine as well as approximately 15 grams of cocaine and 535 grams of powder methamphetamine.

   

• January 24, 2014, law enforcement seized approximately 19 kilograms of heroin from a bus at the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas.The bus had just entered the United States from Mexico and was enroute to the drug cell in Atlanta.

   

• March 18, 2014, the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) stopped a vehicle on I-85 southbound in Gwinnett County, Georgia.During a search of the vehicle, agents seized approximately one kilogram of cocaine which was concealed in a cereal box and arrested Rufino Pineda-Perez.

   

• March 19, 2014, agents observed a bus used by the organization at a warehouse located at 1311 Fulton Industrial Boulevard in Atlanta.At that time, Jose Cardenas-Garcia loaded the concealed compartment in the bus with drug proceeds.Later that afternoon, the GSP stopped the bus and located $277,490 concealed in false compartments within the bus frame.

   

• May 29, 2014, law enforcement stopped a bus owned by Alejandro Carmona in Cobb County. A search of the bus revealed approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the floorboard.

   

• May 29, 2014, agents served a federal search warrant at a residence located at 1055 Omaha Drive in Norcross.Upon entering the residence, law enforcement observed Jose Ocampo-Jaimes attempting to dispose of suspected methamphetamine by washing it down the tub drain.During the search of the residence, agents located approximately five kilograms of “ice” methamphetamine in the kitchen and bedrooms.

All defendants in this case were sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., as follows:

•    Alejandro Carmona, 65, of Arlington, Texas was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Carmona was found guilty of a narcotics conspiracy charge on November 9, 2015 after a week-long federal jury trial.

•    Reberiano Arroyo-Santana, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

•    Atenogenes Alvarado-Delgado, 35, of Powder Springs, Georgia was sentenced earlier today to 19 years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

•    Jose Alvarado-Delgado, 37, of Austell, Georgia was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

•    Ranferi Pineda-Campos, 29, of Lilburn, Georgia was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

•    Alan Arnold Lopez, 26, of Mableton, Georgia was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

•    Jose Antonio Pineda-Maldonado, 24, of Smyrna, Georgia was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

•    Miguel Salinas, 24, of Lawrenceville, Georgia was sentenced to eight years and ten months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release on a narcotics conspiracy charge.

•    Blanca Hernandez, 43, of Alpharetta, Georgia was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on a narcotics conspiracy charge.

•    Rufino Pineda-Perez, 50, of Lawrenceville, Georgia was sentenced to six years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on a narcotics conspiracy and illegal re-entry by a previously removed alien charge.

•    Jose Ocampo-Jaimes, 37, of Lilburn, Georgia was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on narcotics conspiracy and illegal re-entry by a previously removed alien charges.

•    Jose Cardenas-Garcia, 50, of Kennesaw, Georgia was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

•    Yarely Pineda, 24, of Smyrna, Georgia was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on a charge of money laundering conspiracy.

The investigation and prosecution of this case was a coordinated effort through the David G. Wilhelm OCDETF Strike Force, led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations.  Valuable assistance was also provided by the Cobb County Police Department, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Marietta Police Department, Powder Springs Police Department, Henry County Police Department, Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, DeKalb County Police Department, Alabama Drug Task Force, Newnan Police Department, Conyers Police Department, Gwinnett County Judicial Task Force, United States Customs and Border Protection, and the Georgia State Patrol.

Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Herskowitz, Nicholas Hartigan, and Michael J. Brown prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.