Five plead guilty in $31M cocaine trafficking operation into South Florida
Key Points(5)
- Five men have pleaded guilty to participating in a drug trafficking operation that imported more than 3,500 kilograms of cocaine into South Florida aboard sport fishing vessels, federal prosecutors said.
- According to court records, the organization used U.S.-registered sport fishing vessels equipped with concealed compartments to transport large cocaine shipments into South Florida.
- Prosecutors said the group was responsible for importing more than 3,500 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value exceeding $31 million.
- The drugs were picked up in waters off The Bahamas before being transported to South Florida.
- “These were not fishing trips.
Five men have pleaded guilty to participating in a drug trafficking operation that imported more than 3,500 kilograms of cocaine into South Florida aboard sport fishing vessels from the Dominican Republic.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Wednesday that Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, 32; Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, 32; Keisy Estibet Peguero, 38; Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera, 32; and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine.
According to court records, the organization used U.S.-registered sport fishing vessels equipped with concealed compartments to transport large cocaine shipments into South Florida.
Prosecutors said the group was responsible for importing more than 3,500 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value exceeding $31 million. The drugs were picked up in waters off The Bahamas before being transported to South Florida.
“These were not fishing trips. They were industrial-scale cocaine runs into South Florida,” U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones said.
“This organization used sport fishing vessels and hidden compartments to move thousands of kilograms of cocaine from offshore waters to stash houses and distributors in our communities,” Quiñones added.
Federal prosecutors identified Mercedes-Hernandez as the leader of the organization, saying he financed the purchase of vessels and other expenses associated with transporting the drugs.
He also supervised the unloading of cocaine, its transportation to a stash house and subsequent delivery to distributors, according to prosecutors.
The other defendants played various roles in the operation. Salcedo-Perez served in several capacities, including as the registered owner of vessels used by the organization, while Peguero helped transport the cocaine and guarded shipments while they were in transit.
Rivera-Cabrera and Rijo-Jimenez served as captains of vessels used to bring cocaine into South Florida.
Authorities linked the organization to several major shipments between 2023 and 2025.
Approximately 1,600 kilograms of cocaine was transported into South Florida aboard the M/V Mysterry in mid-2023, followed by about 900 kilograms aboard the M/V Maple Leaf in December 2024.
Another approximately 1,000 kilograms was transported aboard the M/V Daviniki in July and August 2025, prosecutors said.
Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Miami Field Division investigated the case with assistance from the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Kirkpatrick is prosecuting the case.
Federal authorities said the prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative targeting criminal cartels, transnational criminal organizations, foreign gangs and human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in the United States and abroad.
