Federal officials have announced a significant operation aimed at disrupting a transnational criminal enterprise that has been trafficking heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States.
As part of this operation, two alleged kingpins of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel, Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, also known as “Pez,” and his brother Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, referred to as “Fresa,” have been indicted alongside an Atlanta-based money laundering suspect.
The Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has placed a bounty of up to $8 million for information that leads to the arrest and convictions of the Hurtado brothers.
On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was expected to visit Atlanta to announce what the Department of Justice called “major developments” in the ongoing investigations; however, she did not attend the press conference at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building.
At around 3 p.m., the Department of State announced the reward offerings: $5 million for information leading to Johnny and $3 million for Jose.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has indicated that the Hurtado brothers are believed to be leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel, which is responsible for transporting, importing, and distributing an estimated 36 metric tons of methamphetamine, 12 metric tons of Mexican heroin, and 12 metric tons of cocaine annually into the United States.
Federal agents revealed that the cartel laundered drug trafficking money through a money services business located in Norcross, Georgia.
“They would do it under a certain threshold to avoid filings right to the IRS.
A lot of people would bring in small amounts of bulk currency to the business,” stated Jae W. Chung, the DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge.
This operation reportedly funneled millions of dollars to Mexico in just the past year.
On Tuesday, the DEA and its partners seized over 100 pounds of fentanyl, $300,000 in suspected drug proceeds, and various firearms, resulting in 22 arrests, 11 of which were illegal aliens.
The second indictment also charges the Hurtado brothers with money laundering and drug trafficking offenses and underscores the urgency surrounding their arrest.
“These men were directing the movement of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States while coordinating how drug proceeds would make their way back to Mexico,” explained Steven Schrank, the Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations.
Federal agents believe the brothers are currently in Mexico, and their capture could significantly enhance safety on the streets of Georgia.
The push to get drugs, particularly fentanyl, off the streets has become an elevated priority since cartels were designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
“We will be relentless in that pursuit, and we are united in that purpose,” Schrank added.
Delving deeper into the investigation, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia has returned indictments against the Hurtado brothers.
They face multiple charges, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute narcotics intended for import into the U.S. and conspiracy to possess these drugs with the intent to distribute.
Both brothers remain fugitives believed to be hiding in Mexico.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued sanctions against the Hurtado brothers as well as two other family members: Ubaldo and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga.
In February, the State Department designated La Nueva Familia Michoacana as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group.
The Department of State’s offered rewards of up to $5 million and $3 million for information leading to the arrests of Johnny and Jose Alfredo, respectively.
In a related case, an indictment unveiled this week charges 48-year-old Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, from Mableton, Georgia, with conspiracy to commit international money laundering and for running an unlicensed money services business.
Prosecutors claim she utilized her business, Noyola Multiservice, to wire drug proceeds from the U.S. to Mexico on behalf of cartel members, including her brother, Franco Tabares Martinez, a high-ranking member of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana who had been indicted in Georgia the previous year for meth trafficking.
Franco Tabares Martinez was sanctioned by OFAC in 2023, while another brother, Pablo Tabares Martinez, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a methamphetamine conspiracy charge.
A third sibling, Uriel Tabares-Martinez, was also sanctioned in 2024.
The investigation into La Nueva Familia Michoacana reportedly began in 2021, when federal agents identified cartel members distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Authorities report that the cartel has collaborated with U.S.-based associates to smuggle drugs across the border while laundering proceeds back to Mexico.
Numerous law enforcement agencies gathered to announce this major drug bust in hopes of curbing the flow of deadly substances in Georgia.
“The successful outcome today should serve as a warning to those who believe they can outsmart the system.
We will find you, we will uncover your trail, and we will hold you accountable,” declared Demtrius Hardeman, the IRS Special Agent in Charge.
Michael Herskowitz, Chief of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section, described how DEA and law enforcement uncovered a scheme where drug traffickers delivered bulk currency to a middleman in Norcross, who then allegedly handed it over to Sandra Chilel and her daughter, Karina Perez.
They are accused of laundering the proceeds as instructed by a Mexico-based trafficker.
Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. emphasized the scale of the operation, revealing that these cartel members are allegedly responsible for importing massive quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl from Mexico to Georgia and throughout the United States.
In closing, Moultrie affirmed, “These federal indictments, in conjunction with the imposition of OFAC sanctions, send a strong message that we will tirelessly investigate, prosecute, and defund individuals around the globe who choose to import deadly drugs into, and risk the lives of the members of, our communities.”
Steven N. Schrank reaffirmed the commitment of law enforcement to dismantling the criminal enterprises that thrive on violence and addiction, stating, “This operation underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities.”
Jae W. Chung reiterated the collaborative nature of this operation, indicating that these efforts demonstrate the DEA’s dedication to eradicating drug trafficking organizations and safeguarding communities.
image source from：https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/attorney-general-bondi-announce-major-federal-case-updates-atlanta
