CORAL GABLES, Fla. — A 36-year-old Hialeah man was arrested Monday as part of a joint state and federal investigation targeting alleged drug money laundering operations in South Florida, authorities confirmed.
Officers with the Coral Gables Police Department said Luis Radhames Cabral was taken into custody near the 4900 block of Northwest 114th Avenue in Doral.
The arrest stems from an undercover investigation known as “Operation Empty Nest,” which dates back to Aug. 6, 2025.
According to an arrest report, investigators identified Cabral as an alleged “agent of a money laundering organization responsible for transporting and delivering bulk narcotics proceeds in the form of U.S. currency.”
The report stated that the cash was intended to “convert said proceeds to cryptocurrency which would then be transferred to wallets maintained by drug trafficking organizations.”
On Aug. 6, 2025, investigatiors said members of a South Florida task force conducting surveillance observed a black 2023 Chevrolet Suburban registered to Cabral parked near the 5300 block of Northwest 114th Avenue.
Agents reported seeing a gray Toyota Camry pull up nearby.
Police said an unidentified man exited the Camry carrying containers, including a duffel bag, and handed them to Cabral, who placed the bag in his SUV.
Investigators said they later witnessed Cabral and another man carrying containers into an apartment and then returning to the Suburban with large bags.
A Doral police officer stopped the Suburban around 2 p.m. because it had a “heavily tinted front windshield and (he) could not see inside the vehicle,” the report stated.
During the stop, both men consented to a search of the vehicle after one of them stated there was money inside, according to the report.
A K-9 unit responded and alerted to the presence of narcotics odors in the vehicle, authorities said.
They said a search revealed two duffel bags and a Louis Vuitton shoulder bag containing vacuum-sealed currency bundled in rubber bands.
Investigators said they recovered $756,595 in cash, primarily in $20 bills, along with other denominations. A gun was also found inside one of the bags.
Authorities said “quick-count bundles,” which are rubber-banded stacks typically totaling about $10,000, are commonly used to transport and exchange illicit proceeds because they allow for fast counting and minimal time during transactions.
They said a records check determined that neither Cabral nor the co-conspirator were licensed as a money services business owners in Florida or federally.
Police said Cabral was re-interviewed Monday and provided a statement consistent with a previous interview, though the exact details were redacted from the publicly-released report.
Jail records show he is facing one count each of money laundering involving more than $100,000, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering involving more than $100,000, one count of operating as an unauthorized money transmitter involving more than $100,000, and one count of conspiracy to operate as an unauthorized money transmitter.
As of Tuesday morning, he was being held on a $500,000 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He was also placed on a Nebbia hold, which requires a defendant to prove that the money or collateral used to post bail comes from a legitimate, legal source.
No other arrests have been confirmed at this time.
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