Three Florida men were charged in a conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine after police seized a shipment with nearly $2 million worth of cocaine.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Juan De Jesus Gutierrez, 45, Jonathan Mejia, 41, and Ricardo Sanchez Ortiz, 46, all of Kissimmee, are facing multiple drug felony charges.
“We applaud the hard work of the law enforcement agencies tasked with interdicting the illegal shipments that traffickers attempt to hide within the massive amounts of vital commercial material,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine for the Southern District of Georgia.
Christine said an investigation into contraband shipped from the Dominican Republic led federal investigators to a shipping container May 26. A search discovered about 50 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside the walls of cardboard boxes containing fresh oranges.
The street value of the seized drugs is estimated to be $1.75 million.
Federal officials continued watching the container when it later was picked up and delivered May 29 to a rented warehouse nearby. Gutierrez, Meija and Ortiz were taken into custody when they arrived at the site, when they allegedly opened the container and began unloading the boxes.
“As the Port of Savannah continues to see growth in volume of cargo processed each year, criminal organizations will continue to try and smuggle their poison into the U.S.,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Today’s arrests should serve as a warning to those organizations that law enforcement in Savannah will defend our ports and protect our communities.”
