Craig S. Morford
United States Attorney
Dave Rivera
Assistant U.S. Attorney
615 736-5151
FEDERAL AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCE THE GUILTY PLEAS OF SEVEN DEFENDANTS OF THE PINEDA DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION
Nashville, TN - June 6, 2007- Craig S. Morford, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, and Harry Sommers, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, announced that seven defendants who were indicted following one of the largest cocaine seizures in the Middle District of Tennessee have pled guilty. 55 kilos of cocaine were seized in Brentwood, Tennessee on Thursday, October 26, 2006, leading to the indictment of ten individuals on November 1, 2006. The defendants were charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering.
Yesterday, before District Court Judge Robert L. Echols, five defendants pled guilty to the charge of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Those defendants, EDGAR RAYO-NAVARRO, OSCAR TORRES-NAVARRO, LUIS MONDRAGON-BIBIANO, LUIS ALANZO MUNOZ-RODREIGUEZ, and MARIO ALBERTO SILVA-QUINTANILLA face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $4,000,000.
Defendant SEBASTIAN GONZALEZ pled guilty to the charge of money laundering and faces a maximum penalty of twenty years imprisonment and a fine up to $1,227,300. That amount represents twice the amount of money he laundered.
The DEA investigation began in October 2004 and targeted the large scale Pineda drug trafficking organization based in Dalton, Georgia. The investigation revealed that the organization was responsible for importing large quantities of cocaine from Mexico for distribution in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Based on a variety of investigative techniques, law enforcement agents learned that Nashville resident Edgar Rayo-Navarro and Jesus Pineda Camacho of Dalton, Georgia, were arranging for shipments of cocaine to be shipped from Mexico for distribution in the Nashville, Tennessee area. In addition to the 55 kilograms of cocaine that were seized, over $1,100,000 in cash and five firearms were also seized.
The case was investigated by the Nashville Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Dave Rivera and Brent Hannafan handled the investigation and prosecution for the United States.