Atlanta resident Carlos Salazar-Garcia, 37, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for running a drug trafficking and money laundering scheme. (Credit: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia)
ATLANTA - A 37-year-old man will spend a decade in federal prison after running fake produce businesses to smuggle massive amounts of cocaine into the Atlanta area.
What we know:
Carlos Salazar-Garcia, 37, of Atlanta, received a 10-year federal prison sentence to be followed by five years of supervised release.
He pleaded guilty on April 20 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine importation and money laundering charges.
Federal agents in Laredo, Texas, intercepted 119 pounds of cocaine in December 2022 hidden inside electronic transformers bound for a Clayton County farmers market.
In November 2023, border agents in McAllen, Texas, seized another 66 pounds of cocaine hidden inside a shipment of limes.
Investigators confirmed the operations smuggled nearly 200 pounds of cocaine across borders through hidden shipments.
Financial transactions linked to the sham operations funneled more than $1 million in drug proceeds back to Mexico.
Co-defendant Andrea Principe, 37, of Stone Mountain, pleaded guilty on June 30 to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
What we don't know:
Officials have not released whether additional arrests will be made in connection to the border smuggling ring.
What's next:
Principe is scheduled to face sentencing in federal court on Oct. 15. Salazar-Garcia will begin serving his 120-month prison sentence immediately.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwayne A. Brown Jr., and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as Homeland Security Investigations.