{"id":52925,"date":"2023-04-20T17:29:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T00:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52925"},"modified":"2023-04-20T17:29:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T00:29:00","slug":"colombian-admits-to-conspiring-to-smuggle-tens-of-million-of-dollars-of-cocaine-bound-for-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52925","title":{"rendered":"Colombian Admits to Conspiring to Smuggle Tens of Million of Dollars of Cocaine Bound for U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The lead defendant plead guilty Thursday to conspiring to smuggle tens of millions of dollars worth of cocaine by aircraft from Colombia to Mexico for distribution in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was done by maintaining secret airstrips and the bribery of air traffic controllers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jaison D\u00e1vila Amador, 56, a.k.a. \u201cCoste\u00f1o\u201d and \u201cMar\u00eda Ang\u00e9lica,\u201d of Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine for the purpose of unlawful importation. D\u00e1vila has been in federal custody since September 2021 after his extradition from Colombia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 According to his plea agreement, from at least October 2017 to May 2019, D\u00e1vila participated in the cocaine trafficking conspiracy. D\u00e1vila and his accomplices carried out their plan by maintaining clandestine airstrips in Colombia where aircraft from Mexico would land to retrieve bulk quantities of cocaine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"To facilitate the scheme, members of the conspiracy bribed air traffic controllers and law enforcement officials to ensure the flights from Mexico could enter Colombian airspace undisturbed.<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 5, 2017, an aircraft bound from Mexico entered Colombian airspace to receive a cocaine shipment. Still, it was intercepted and forced down by the Colombian Air Force and then destroyed it with machine gun fire. Near a clandestine airstrip and the airplane\u2019s wreckage, law enforcement found approximately 515 kilograms (1,135 pounds), which D\u00e1vila and his co-conspirators intended to traffic by aircraft. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Investigators estimate that the seized cocaine if sold in the United States, would have been valued at more than $13 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

D\u00e1vila admitted in his plea agreement to coordinating various aspects of the conspiracy, including bribe payments to air traffic controllers, financing for the cocaine shipment, and logistical support for the aircraft that would transport the cocaine from Colombia to Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge George H. Wu scheduled an Aug. 28 sentencing hearing. At that time, D\u00e1vila faces up to life imprisonment.<\/span><\/p>\n

All 13 defendants arrested and extradited to the United States, in this case, have plead guilty to participating in the international drug trafficking conspiracy. Those defendants include:<\/span><\/p>\n