RICHMOND, Va. - A Honduran man pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy from 2011 to 2014 that transported over a 1,000 kilograms of cocaine on United States registered aircraft on behalf of the “Los Cachiros," a large-scale Honduran based drug trafficking organization (DTO).
According to court documents, Willian Reyniery Medina-Escobar, 33, joined the “Los Cachiros" DTO in approximately 2011. As a member of the “Los Cachiros," Medina-Escobar conspired with other members to transport cocaine from Apure, Venezuela to Honduras using United States registered aircraft. Specifically on behalf of the DTO, Medina-Escobar negotiated the purchase of cocaine, inspected aircraft used to make long distance drug flights, coordinated the landing of drug laden aircraft, surveilled potential clandestine aircraft landing sites in Honduras, and served as a radio operator to facilitate communication between pilots and the ground crew for drug laden flights. On Oct. 27, 2013, Medina-Escobar assisted in the landing of a United States registered aircraft in Limon, Honduras, that transported 1,025 kilograms of cocaine from Apure, Venezuela.
Medina-Escobar pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on a United States registered aircraft and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on March 30, 2018. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the DEA and IRS Richmond Field Offices as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation Strong Moon. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Colonel David R. Hines, Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, and Colonel Thierry Dupuis, Chesterfield County Police Department, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert and Peter S. Duffey are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-91.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
