Federal officials have indicted seven foreign nationals in Kentucky, accusing them of moving huge sums of cash for a Mexican drug cartel.
Mexican national Jose Malagon Castro, 49, who was operating a chain of El Rey Market outlets in the Louisville area, is accused of using his businesses to launder millions in cartel drug money. Prosecutors say he transferred about $34.7 million to accounts in Mexico.
When Castro was arrested, he was found with more than half a million dollars in cash in a backpack stashed in the trunk of his car, according to WDRB-TV.
Castro also reportedly employed several foreign nationals who investigators say were tasked with conducting wire transfers as part of Castro’s money transmission service.
Those arrested and charged include Yeimi Hernandez Barahona, 34, Kenia Hernandez Barahona, 35, Kelin Hernandez Barahona, 31, all citizens of Honduras, and Suri Rosmeri Hernandez Del Cid, 27, a citizen of Guatemala according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Kentucky.
The IRS assisted in the investigation and arrests with the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Cincinnati office saying, “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to rooting out the money laundering schemes that serve as the lifeblood of drug trafficking organizations.”
“The alleged crimes in this indictment show the money path of millions of dollars from Kentucky to a transnational drug organization,” agent Karen Wingerd added. “Our job is to trace the money that funds the local illegal drug trade and make sure all responsible parties are held accountable.”
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” the US AG’s statement noted. “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
Those arrested and indicted will next appear in court on Tuesday.
The latest indictments come on the heels of a series of raids on Chinese-owned factories across southern Ohio after federal investigators discovered a scheme to illegally import foreign workers, many from China.
One of the businesses raided was a glass manufacturer touted by Barack Obama in his documentary, American Factory. The business, Fuyao Glass America, was reportedly employing dozens of illegal workers from China who were held in near slave conditions.
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