A 52-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison after he admitted to one count of money laundering, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Authorities said Edgardo Serrano admitted he drove over $1.7 million in illegal drug proceeds from Florida to the Rio Grande Valley. Serrano entered a guilty plea Nov. 2, 2020.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. on Tuesday ordered Serrano to serve a 72-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence detailing the importance of the $1,758,465 payment in exchange for more cocaine being sent to Miami, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas stated in a press release.
In handing down the sentence, Rodriguez noted the large amount of cocaine the $1.7 million represented.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the investigation revealed trucks would pick up cocaine from South Texas to be driven to Florida for illegal sale. Drivers like Serrano would then return to the Rio Grande Valley with the illegal drug proceeds for delivery into Mexico to drug cartel members, the office stated.
Authorities discovered Serrano in Hidalgo County April 17, 2020, with drug money secreted in his semi-tractor-trailer, the press release stated.
As part of his plea, Serrano agreed to forfeit the $1,758,465 as illegal money obtained from the sale of cocaine.
Serrano was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives jointly conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation titled La Familia Tradicion. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Betancourt prosecuted the case.
