FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Foreign National Sentenced for International Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy
A Mexican national was sentenced today in the District of Columbia to 13 years in prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine for importation into the United States.
According to court documents, between 1998 and approximately 2012, Jaime Antonio Mandujano-Eudave, 61, worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to coordinate the transportation of cocaine by boat from Colombia to Culiacan, Los Cabos, and elsewhere in Mexico. Mandujano-Eudave communicated GPS coordinates to the boats’ crew members to facilitate meetings in the Pacific Ocean. There, the cocaine-laden boats from Colombia would meet other boats under the control of the Sinaloa Cartel and offload the cocaine. These boats transported multi-kilogram amounts of cocaine. Once the cocaine arrived in Mexico, other members of Sinaloa Cartel would transport the cocaine to the United States for sale. Mandujano-Eudave knew that the cocaine would be subsequently imported into the United States for further distribution.
In 2009, Mandujano-Eudave sent a vessel, the Fiona, to pick up approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean. In October 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the Fiona just north of Clarion Island, Mexico. The Fiona was set on fire by its crew, but the U.S. Coast Guard was able to recover 500 kilograms of cocaine from the water.
In August 2014, Spanish authorities arrested Mandujano-Eudave at the request of the United States. He was extradited from Spain to the United States in February 2015. On March 8, Mandujano-Eudave pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States.
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Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Field Office made the announcement.
The HSI New York Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the FBI Washington Field Office.
Trial Attorneys Kirk Handrich and Melanie Alsworth of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations provided significant assistance.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Spain to secure the arrest and extradition of Mandujano-Eudave.
This case is supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
Topic(s): Drug TraffickingComponent(s): Criminal DivisionCriminal – Narcotic and Dangerous Drug SectionCriminal – Office of Enforcement OperationsCriminal – Office of International AffairsFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task ForcesPress Release Number: 23-671
Updated June 15, 2023 Original Article