Ecuadorian Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Smuggle Over 1,700 Kilos Of Cocaine

Ecuadorian national Juan Nicolas Pachay Lopez pleaded guilty to smuggling over 1,700 kilograms of cocaine.Photo byStock Image

By Kristy Tallman, July 3, 2024

Tampa, Florida – Juan Nicolas Pachay Lopez, a 40-year-old national of Manta, Ecuador, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute over 1,700 kilograms of cocaine in international waters. Pachay Lopez faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count, with the potential for a life sentence. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on February 24, 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter MUNRO was patrolling approximately 580 nautical miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, when a Coast Guard drone detected a suspicious four-engine go-fast vessel (GFV). The vessel, about 40 feet in length with a blue and green hull, carried three individuals along with packages and fuel drums on deck. Despite receiving commands in Spanish to stop, the GFV attempted to flee, prompting MUNRO’s helicopter to fire warning shots.

A boarding team from MUNRO subsequently took control of the GFV. Pachay Lopez, identified as the vessel master, was among the crew. The Coast Guard recovered 33 bales of cocaine, weighing 1,725 kilograms.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Panama Express Strike Force, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprising agents and analysts from the DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. OCDETF aims to dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations posing a threat to the United States through a multi-agency approach. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.

By Kristy Tallman, July 3, 2024

The Republic News

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

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