Six Leaders of Transnational Maritime Drug Trafficking Organization Indicted for Distributing Multi-Ton Quantities of Cocaine

An indictment was unsealed yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn charging Elkin Armando Alomia Quinones, Diego Luis Obregon Aguirre, Edwin Obregon Castro, Juan Matias Obregon Castro, also known as “Mauricio,” Rodrigo Obregon Saavedra, also known as “Don Ricky” and Narjel Paredes, also known as “Nacho,” with conspiring to violate and violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and with an international cocaine distribution conspiracy that resulted in the seizure of over 5,000 kilograms of cocaine for distribution in the United States.  The indictment was returned under seal by a grand jury in November 2024.  The six defendants were arrested yesterday in Colombia.  The United States is seeking the defendants’ extradition to face charges in the Eastern District of New York.

John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA New York) and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York), announced the arrests and charges.

“As alleged, the defendants are members of a Colombian transnational maritime drug trafficking organization that specializes in building semi-submersible vessels and using the vessels to transport multi-ton quantities of cocaine to Mexico and Central America, for ultimate distribution in the United States,” stated United States Attorney Durham.  “With today’s arrests, the defendants’ conspiracy has been torpedoed. The United States will not tolerate the export and distribution of dangerous drugs into our homeland. My Office is determined to prosecute these defendants in a federal courtroom in Brooklyn where they will be held accountable for their crimes.”

Mr. Durham praised the outstanding investigative work of DEA New York’s Strike Force, DEA Bogota and HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force.  Mr. Durham also expressed his appreciation to Colombia’s Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación, DEA Puerto Rico, DEA Madrid and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico for their substantial assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá provided significant assistance in this matter.

“The removal of over 5,000 kilograms of cocaine from international waters, destined for the United States, illustrates the DEA’s global pursuit to identify and target those international drug traffickers and Transnational Criminal Organizations that are using semi-submersible fleets to poison our city streets,” stated DEA New York Special Agent in Charge Tarentino. “Today’s indictment against these six individuals is a reminder of the reach and unity of effort the DEA and our law enforcement partners demonstrate when pursing those criminals looking to profit from the illicit drug trade.”    

“As alleged, investigators repeatedly intercepted the defendants' attempts to transport cocaine via semi-submersible vessels traveling through international waterways. While their ill-intended ingenuity knows no bounds, the unified strength and versatility of the U.S. federal law enforcement system has once again stopped a dangerous, allegedly cartel-aligned drug trafficking organization in its tracks. Securing the homeland from dangers posed by foreign organizations and threats is among HSI’s top priorities. We are relentlessly prepared to confront bad actors seeking financial gain by whatever means necessary,” stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.

As alleged in the charging document and other court filings, the defendants led a maritime transnational criminal organization that specialized in building self-propelled semi-submersible vessels in remote locations in Colombia and South America and used those semi-submersible vessels to transport multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Colombia to Central America and Sinaloa Cartel controlled areas of Mexico, for ultimate distribution in the United States. 

Using intelligence from multiple sources, including lawfully intercepted calls and communications, the investigation revealed that the defendants led a sophisticated maritime drug distribution operation consisting of multiple inter-connected phases.  First, members of the conspiracy sought investors to finance multi-ton cocaine loads, including financing the construction of the semi-submersible vessels and payments to crew members and co-conspirators. Then, members of the conspiracy built and hired engineers and workers to assist in building self-propelled semi-submersible vessels capable of carrying thousands of kilograms of cocaine.  They also hired crew members to transport the narcotics in the vessels.  Before launching the cocaine-laden vessels from the Pacific coast of Colombia towards areas controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, members of the conspiracy conducted countersurveillance on the high seas by strategically positioning fishing vessels on the same route that the semi-submersible would navigate in order to detect the presence of law enforcement in the area.

As a result of the investigation, law enforcement seized multiple thousand kilograms of cocaine traced to this transnational criminal organization, including two seizures charged in the indictment:

• The June 27, 2023, seizure of approximately 2,312 kilograms of cocaine aboard a semi-submersible vessel built by the defendants’ criminal organization; and
• The October 7, 2023, seizure of approximately 3,300 kilograms of cocaine aboard a semi-submersible vessel built by the defendants’ criminal organization.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force is a Federal Task Force comprised of Federal, State and Local law enforcement officers who enforce the narcotic laws of the United States Government and bring those to justice who break these laws relating to large scale drug and money laundering operations that reach all corners of the globe. This Task Force includes members of the DEA, HSI, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, New York City Police Department, New York State Police and multiple other local police departments in the tri-state area.

HSI New York leads and directs all operational and administrative activities of the El Dorado Task Force (EDTF).  The EDTF is comprised of more than 200 law enforcement personnel representing approximately thirty-five (35) federal, state, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies.  The mission of the EDTF is to disrupt, dismantle, or render ineffective, organizations involved in the laundering of proceeds of narcotics trafficking and other financial crimes.

The charges in the indictments are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, all defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, and as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force. Assistant United States  Attorneys Lorena Michelen and Katherine Onyshko are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

ELKIN ARMANDO ALOMIA QUINONES
Age:  39
Colombia

DIEGO LUIS OBREGON AGUIRRE
Age:  46
Colombia

EDWIN OBREGON CASTRO
Age:  40
Colombia

JUAN MATIAS OBREGON CASTRO (“Mauricio”)
Age:  48
Colombia

RODRIGO OBREGON SAAVEDRA (“Don Ricky”)
Age:  68
Colombia

NARJEL PAREDES (“Nacho”)
Age:  55
Colombia

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-462 (EK)