TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WINK) — The Office of Statewide Prosecution has arrested and charged multiple defendants with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering in connection with a Sinaloa Cartel-linked enterprise that transported thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico through El Paso, Texas, into the Tampa Bay area for distribution, according to a release from the Office of the Attorney General.

Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrests. The investigation culminated in the July 11, 2026, seizure of approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine and law enforcement efforts have fully dismantled the Florida network.

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“This investigation has completely dismantled a major Sinaloa Cartel pipeline that was flooding Florida communities with thousands of kilograms of cocaine,” Uthmeier said in a release from the Office of the Attorney General.

He said the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit formed a dedicated task force whose members traveled to Texas for weeks to take this down with partners at FDLE, HSI and El Paso PD according to the Office of the Attorney General.

“This is the largest drug seizure from a single Pinellas County drug trafficker in the past 40 years,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

The enterprise operated as a Sinaloa Cartel branch based in Juarez, Mexico. Cocaine was sourced in Mexico, transported across the Texas land border and delivered to Jorge Ramiro Zamonsett in the El Paso area.

Zamonsett coordinated commercial semi-trucks and accompanying chase vehicles to deliver the narcotics to Daniel Pinales in the Tampa Bay region. Pinales then redistributed the cocaine through a network that included Tyler Green, Marice Higgins and Brian Varner.

Investigators documented a consistent monthly pattern of deliveries from at least December 2025 through July 2026. On July 11, 2026, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detectives, working with FDLE, observed the handoff of three duffle bags containing approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine to Pinales.

Pinales was arrested with the cocaine, which field-tested positive, and additional members of the transportation team were taken into custody. The Office of Statewide Prosecution filed conspiracy to commit racketeering and trafficking in cocaine charges against multiple defendants in Pasco County, with substantive racketeering charges against key leaders.

Pinales also faces a life sentence in connection with conspiracy to traffic in cocaine over 150 kilograms. The arrest of Erick Manuel Gomez Tapia, also known as “Canelo,” identified as the number two in the organization, occurred on a Florida warrant with a $30,000,000 bond.

Gomez Tapia is in custody in Texas awaiting extradition. Zamonsett was charged as a co-conspirator and is subject to a $10,000,000 bond.

Miguel Alejandro Carrasco-Lechuga, involved in the money team and lookout operations, was arrested and is held at the Pasco County Detention Center on a $1,000,000 bond for conspiracy to commit racketeering. Defendants charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering include Pinales, Gomez Tapia, Jesus Morales, Joaquin Enriquez, Arturo Carlos, Zamonsett, Green, Higgins, Carrasco-Lechuga and Varner.

Substantive racketeering charges have been filed against Pinales, Gomez Tapia, Morales and Enriquez. Bonds on the original defendants total approximately $40 million.

Intelligence developed during the investigation enabled partner agencies to seize 99 kilograms of cocaine in the El Paso area on July 29, 2026, and 60 pounds of methamphetamine on Oct. 20, 2026, according to the Office of the Attorney General. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement assigned an agent to the team, and HSI and the El Paso Police Department provided critical assistance in Texas.

The cases are being prosecuted by Office of Statewide Prosecution Special Counsel Ryan Shaw and Special Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Bryan Sarabia of the Sixth Judicial Circuit.