TAMPA, FL — Approximately 350 pounds of cocaine and 60 pounds of methamphetamine were seized during a major investigation into a Tampa Bay-area drug trafficking operation linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. According to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, the organization transported thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico into the Tampa Bay region.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that multiple defendants have been arrested and charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering in connection with the operation.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the organization operated as a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel based in Juarez, Mexico. Cocaine was transported across the border into El Paso, Texas, before being delivered to the Tampa Bay region using commercial semi-trucks and accompanying vehicles.
Investigators identified Daniel Pinales as a key distributor responsible for moving cocaine throughout the region. On July 11, detectives with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, working alongside the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, seized approximately 132 pounds of cocaine during an operation involving Pinales.
Additional intelligence gathered during the investigation led authorities to seize approximately 218 pounds of cocaine in El Paso on July 29 and another 60 pounds of methamphetamine on October 20.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri described the July seizure as the largest involving a single Pinellas County drug trafficker in the past 40 years.
Authorities also arrested Erick Manuel Gomez Tapia, known as “Canelo,” who investigators identified as the organization’s second-in-command. He remains in custody in Texas awaiting extradition on a $30 million bond.
Ten defendants face conspiracy to commit racketeering charges, while four also face substantive racketeering charges. Pinales faces a potential life sentence in connection with a cocaine trafficking conspiracy charge.
Attorney General Uthmeier said the investigation successfully dismantled the organization’s Florida distribution network.
The investigation involved the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, FDLE, Homeland Security Investigations, and the El Paso Police Department.
SOURCE: Florida Attorney General’s Office
