Ivan Gonzalez-Bejarano was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday to life in prison on charges of conspiring to import and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.In a related case, five Jamaican nationals have pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling drugs into the U.S., the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today.The two investigations were conducted by Operation Panama Express, which targets Colombian drug smuggling operations. Members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, IRS and U.S. Coast Guard are part of the task force.
Prosecutors call Gonzalez-Bejarano a "Colombian cocaine kingpin," and he was found guilty of the charges in October after a two-week jury trial.For more than 20 years, Gonzalez-Bejarano was the head of an organization that smuggled into the U.S. about 30,000 kilograms of cocaine that had a wholesale value of more than $500 million, according to testimony at the trial. U.S. Attorney's Office announced that five Jamaican nationals extradited to the U.S. in July each pleaded guilty to drug smuggling charges.They are: Robroy Williams, nicknamed "Spy," 51; Norris Nembhard, known as "Dido," 53; Glenford Williams, also known as "Toe," 55; Vivian Dalley, nicknamed "Jungo," 49; and Herbert Henry, known as "Scary," 46.The five people pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana into the U.S., prosecutors say.
Williams also pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine while aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., prosecutors say.According to court documents, Jamaica serves as a shipment point for cocaine from Colombia to the U.S. Williams and Nembhard made deals to accept delivery in Jamaica of cocaine shipments between 600 and 1,000 kilograms, prosecutors say.The cocaine was delivered by go-fast vessels, and small quantities from these shipments were sold in Jamaica with larger quantities going to the U.S. by air or sea, often through the Bahamas, prosecutors say.In Jamaica, the cocaine, along with large amounts of marijuana and hash oil, was stored in rural safe houses controlled by Williams and maintained by co-defendants Glenford Williams and Ivan Kenneth Huggins, who were sentenced in 2006.The go-fast boats landed at various Jamaican beaches, including Negril and Montego Bay, investigators say. Robroy Williams and Nembhard paid members of the Jamaican Constabulary Force, including co-defendant Herbert Henry, to provide security and transportation of the cocaine, prosecutors say.Couriers and money changers, including Dalley, returned the money made from the sale of cocaine to Colombia, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors call Gonzalez-Bejarano a "Colombian cocaine kingpin," and he was found guilty of the charges in October after a two-week jury trial.For more than 20 years, Gonzalez-Bejarano was the head of an organization that smuggled into the U.S. about 30,000 kilograms of cocaine that had a wholesale value of more than $500 million, according to testimony at the trial. U.S. Attorney's Office announced that five Jamaican nationals extradited to the U.S. in July each pleaded guilty to drug smuggling charges.They are: Robroy Williams, nicknamed "Spy," 51; Norris Nembhard, known as "Dido," 53; Glenford Williams, also known as "Toe," 55; Vivian Dalley, nicknamed "Jungo," 49; and Herbert Henry, known as "Scary," 46.The five people pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana into the U.S., prosecutors say.
Williams also pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine while aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., prosecutors say.According to court documents, Jamaica serves as a shipment point for cocaine from Colombia to the U.S. Williams and Nembhard made deals to accept delivery in Jamaica of cocaine shipments between 600 and 1,000 kilograms, prosecutors say.The cocaine was delivered by go-fast vessels, and small quantities from these shipments were sold in Jamaica with larger quantities going to the U.S. by air or sea, often through the Bahamas, prosecutors say.In Jamaica, the cocaine, along with large amounts of marijuana and hash oil, was stored in rural safe houses controlled by Williams and maintained by co-defendants Glenford Williams and Ivan Kenneth Huggins, who were sentenced in 2006.The go-fast boats landed at various Jamaican beaches, including Negril and Montego Bay, investigators say. Robroy Williams and Nembhard paid members of the Jamaican Constabulary Force, including co-defendant Herbert Henry, to provide security and transportation of the cocaine, prosecutors say.Couriers and money changers, including Dalley, returned the money made from the sale of cocaine to Colombia, prosecutors say.
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