U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg | U.S. Department of Justice
Orlando, Florida – Four residents from the Orlando area have admitted guilt in a drug distribution conspiracy involving approximately 89 kilograms of cocaine. United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Israel Miranda, Abiezer Laboy-Lozada, Jorge Antonio Gonzalez de la Fuente, and Carlos Antonio Garcia Garcia have each pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine.
Miranda and Laboy-Lozada face a minimum sentence of 10 years up to life imprisonment. Gonzalez de la Fuente and Garcia Garcia could be sentenced to at least 5 years up to 40 years in federal prison. The group has forfeited $464,031 in cash seized during the investigation.
According to plea agreements, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) identified these individuals distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine and managing sales proceeds throughout 2022. On May 1, 2023, Miranda was involved in distributing drugs to Laboy-Lozada in a parking lot meeting where he obtained between 20 - 30 kilograms of cocaine from Miranda.
On October 4, 2023, an exchange took place where Miranda delivered a shoebox containing a kilogram of cocaine to Gonzalez de la Fuente who then passed it on to Garcia Garcia. Law enforcement later stopped Garcia Garcia's vehicle and discovered the shoebox with cocaine inside.
Gonzalez de la Fuente met with conspirators two or three times monthly and participated in distributing between 15 - 50 kilograms of cocaine. He continued his activities even after being charged and was detained when this was found out.
On October 13, 2023, Miranda handed over drug proceeds totaling $262,257 packed in a brown paper bag while texting an image of cash stacks with the message “should be 110k” to another conspirator.
Further enforcement actions led to the seizure of $51,989 from Miranda on November 7, 2023, and $149,785 on March 6, 2024. Over time, Miranda distributed drugs or proceeds reflecting more than the aforementioned amount of cocaine distribution. He has agreed to forfeit all seized cash related to this case.
The DEA led this investigation with support from various agencies including Florida Highway Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations among others. Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill is prosecuting the case as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations through coordinated efforts across multiple agencies.
More information about OCDETF can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
