Major indictment targets alleged leaders of violent Mexican drug cartel
Federal authorities announce a major drug bust
Federal authorities unsealed two indictments revealing charges of drug trafficking and money laundering against a group of people whom federal agents say are working for the cartels. This group includes five individuals in Norcross who were arrested on Tuesday afternoon.
ATLANTA - Two alleged kingpins of a violent Mexican drug cartel and an Atlanta-based money laundering suspect are among several individuals indicted in what federal officials describe as a major operation to disrupt a transnational criminal enterprise trafficking heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States.
The Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is offering up to $8 million for information that leads to the arrest and convictions of two brothers believed to be connected to a Mexican cartel.
What we know:
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was expected to visit Atlanta on Tuesday to announce what the Department of Justice called "major developments" in two ongoing federal investigations. The press conference took place at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in downtown Atlanta. Bondi didn't show.
At 3 p.m., the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said they were offering $5 million for information on alleged trafficker Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga (Pez), and up to $3 million for his brother, Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga (Fresa).
The DEA said they believe the brothers are leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel. That group is estimated to have transported, imported and distributed at least 36 metric tons of methamphetamine, 12 metric tons of Mexican heroin, and 12 metric tons of cocaine per year from Mexico into the United States.
Agents say the group laundered drug trafficking money from a money services business in Norcross. "They would do it under a certain threshold to avoid filings right to the IRS. And so they would just bring, you know, a lot of people would bring in small amounts of, small amounts of bulk currency to the business," said Jae W. Chung, the DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge.
Major drug bust in Georgia
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon announced a drug bust in Georgia they say potentially saved millions of lives. Federal authorities also announced two multi-million-dollar rewards for alleged drug kingpins they believe have orchestrated drug trafficking and money laundering in our state and across the country.
This funneled millions of dollars to Mexico within the last year. On Tuesday, the business was busted. "In the past 24 hours, the DEA and our partners have seized over 100 pounds of fentanyl, $300,000 of suspected drug proceeds, guns, and made 22 arrests, 11 of which are illegal criminals," said Chung.
The second indictment charges two brothers with money laundering and drug trafficking offenses, offering a total of eight million dollars in reward money for information leading to an arrest.
Agents believe the brothers are in Mexico, but said their arrest would mean safer streets in Georgia. "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," said Steven Schrank, the Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge.
And agents say this is just the beginning: with cartels being designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the push to get drugs, especially fentanyl, off the streets is now an even higher priority.
"We will be relentless in that pursuit, and we are united in that purpose," said Schrank.
Dig deeper:
A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned indictments against brothers Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, 52, and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, 41, of Guerrero, Mexico—accused co-leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) cartel. The brothers face charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute narcotics intended for import into the U.S., as well as conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute the drugs. Both men remain fugitives and are believed to be in Mexico.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also issued sanctions against the Hurtado brothers and two other family members, Ubaldo and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga. In February, the U.S. Department of State designated LNFM as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group. The State Department has offered rewards of up to $5 million and $3 million for information leading to the arrests of Johnny and Jose Alfredo, respectively.
A related indictment unsealed this week charges 48-year-old Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, of Mableton, Georgia, with conspiracy to commit international money laundering and operate an unlicensed money services business. Prosecutors allege she used 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 LNFM member indicted in Georgia last year for meth trafficking.
Franco Tabares Martinez was sanctioned by OFAC in 2023, and another brother, Pablo Tabares Martinez, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a methamphetamine conspiracy charge. Their sibling, Uriel Tabares-Martinez, was also sanctioned in 2024.
According to prosecutors, the investigation into LNFM began in 2021 when federal agents identified cartel members distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in metro Atlanta. Authorities say the cartel worked with U.S.-based associates to move drugs across the border and launder the proceeds back to Mexico.
What they're saying:
"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," said Demtrius Hardeman, the IRS Special Agent in Charge.
Agents from multiple law enforcement agencies gathered to announce a huge bust they hope will keep deadly drugs off the streets here in Georgia.
"DEA and law enforcement uncovered a scheme involving drug traffickers delivering bulk currency from drug sales to a middleman in Norcross, the middleman then allegedly delivered the drug proceeds to defendant Sandra Chilel and her daughter Karina Perez, then allegedly laundered the proceeds as directed by a Mexico based trafficker," said Michael Herskowitz, the Chief Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section.
"These cartel members are allegedly responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl from Mexico to the Atlanta area and across the United States," said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. "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."
"This operation underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities and dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from violence and addiction," said Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama.
"Cases like this exemplify the value of partnerships," said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. "This investigation and subsequent indictments demonstrate DEA’s commitment to protecting our community by destroying these drug trafficking organizations."