Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton today sentenced four individuals to federal prison terms for their roles in conspiring to distribute kilograms of cocaine in central Florida. Each previously pleaded guilty. The conspirators also forfeited $464,031 in cash seizures in the case.
|
Name (age, city of residence) |
Sentence Imposed |
|
Israel Miranda (36, Kissimmee) |
10 years in federal prison |
|
Abiezer Laboy Lozada (36, Orlando) |
10 years in federal prison |
| Jorge Antonio Gonzalez de la Fuente (31, St. Cloud) | 7 years, 3 months in federal prison |
|
Carlos Antonio Garcia Garcia (35, Kissimmee) |
5 years in federal prison |
According to the plea agreements, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) identified a group of individuals working to distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine and the proceeds of those sales during 2022. On May 1, 2023, the DEA surveilled Miranda as he distributed drugs to Laboy Lozada in a parking lot. In this and similar meetings during the conspiracy, Laboy Lozada admitted to obtaining 20-30 kilograms of cocaine from Miranda. On October 4, 2023, Miranda delivered a shoe box to Gonzalez de la Fuente, who delivered it to Garcia Garcia. When law enforcement stopped Garcia Garcia’s vehicle, he was found to be carrying that same box containing a kilogram of cocaine.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Gonzalez de la Fuente met with his conspirators two or three times a month and was involved in distribution of 15 – 50 kilograms of cocaine. Gonzalez de la Fuente continued to engage in drug distribution after being charged federally and was detained when this was discovered.
On October 13, 2023, Miranda delivered drug proceeds to an individual who was found to be transporting $262,257 in a brown paper bag. At the same time, Miranda texted a conspirator an image of the stacks of bills he was distributing with the message “should be 110k.” Similar enforcement actions resulted in the seizure of $51,989 from Miranda on November 7, 2023, and $149,785 from Miranda on March 6, 2024. Over the course of the conspiracy, Miranda distributed drugs or drug proceeds reflecting distribution of more than 89 kilograms of cocaine.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Florida Highway Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Secret Service, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.