ATLANTA — An Atlanta man faces a lengthy prison sentence after a drug distribution scheme that used sham produce companies.
One of the intercepted shipments was destined for a farmer’s market in Clayton County, according to authorities.
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Carlos Salazar-Garcia, 37, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for using fake produce companies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
The companies were used to import cocaine into the Atlanta area and laundering the proceeds back to Mexico.
Salazar-Garcia pleaded guilty to federal drug importation and money laundering charges.
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According to information from the case, federal agents intercepted more than 180 pounds of cocaine across two separate Texas border seizures linked to Salazar-Garcia’s sham businesses.
Financial investigations further revealed that Salazar-Garcia and a co-defendant laundered more than $1 million in drug proceeds back to Mexico.
In December 2022, federal agents in Laredo, Texas, inspected a shipment from Mexico and discovered 119 pounds of cocaine concealed inside electronic transformers.
The shipment was destined for a farmers market in Clayton County and was coordinated by a sham produce company operated by Salazar-Garcia.
A second interception occurred in November 2023 at the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas, where border agents seized about 66 pounds of cocaine concealed inside a shipment of limes.
Investigators learned the limes were bound for another fake produce company operated by Salazar-Garcia.
He pleaded guilty on April 20 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine importation and money laundering charges.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg praised the interagency effort that led to the conviction.
“Salazar-Garcia laundered money for Mexican drug traffickers and attempted to smuggle nearly 200 pounds of cocaine into our country,” Hertzberg said. “But federal law enforcement officers working collaboratively across agencies and jurisdictions spoiled his scheme, seized his drugs and haled him into court to face the significant consequences.”
The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Co-defendant Andrea Principe, 37, of Stone Mountain, pleaded guilty on June 30 to conspiracy to commit money laundering for assisting in transferring the drug proceeds.
Michael J. Connolly, acting special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division, emphasized the commitment of law enforcement.
“Whether cocaine is hidden in fruit, electronics, or behind the façade of legitimate businesses, drug traffickers will continue looking for new ways to move their poison,” Connolly said. “What they cannot hide is the determination of the Homeland Security Task Force and our law enforcement partners. This investigation uncovered a calculated effort to import hundreds of pounds of cocaine and today’s sentence ensures the defendant is held accountable for his role in that operation.”
Principe is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15.
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