{"id":258480,"date":"2026-05-04T23:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/258480\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T23:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:36:29","slug":"5-charged-in-operation-mousetrap-cocaine-trafficking-bust-in-midtown-miami-feds-say-nbc-6-south-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/258480\/","title":{"rendered":"5 charged in \u2018Operation Mousetrap\u2019 cocaine trafficking bust in Midtown Miami, feds say \u2013 NBC 6 South Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Five suspects are facing charges in connection with a massive cocaine trafficking organization that had been operating out of a luxury Midtown Miami high-rise, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Operation Mousetrap&#8221; targeted an international network that was moving drugs from Colombia through the Dominican Republic and into South Florida, the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The group was responsible for kilogram-level cocaine trafficking and used the high-rise in Midtown Miami to store the cocaine and prepare it for distribution.<\/p>\n<p>A separate effort, &#8220;Operation Horseman&#8217;s Voyage,&#8221; had focused on maritime trafficking networks responsible for trafficking large amounts of cocaine into South Florida, while &#8220;Operation Mousetrap&#8221; targeted local retail and wholesale distributors.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators had discovered a network that was importing up to 1,700 kilograms of cocaine aboard high-end fishing vessels traveling from the Dominican Republic to Miami.<\/p>\n<p>A Miami-based distribution operation, allegedly led by Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, handled the storage and distribution of the cocaine and involved around 20 others including boat captains, enforcers and street-level distributors, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>In October 2025, law enforcement arrested two suspects and seized over $250,000 in drug proceeds concealed in a vehicle. In a separate incident, law enforcement seized more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine from a vessel.<\/p>\n<p>Then, a search warrant was executed at an apartment at a luxury high-rise in Midtown Miami, where authorities found about 536 kilograms of cocaine, 14 firearms including an unserialized AK-47, and around $3.1 million in cash, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/050426-Operation-Mousetrap-evidence.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   alt=\"Some of the evidence seized during the &quot;Operation Mousetrap&quot; raid.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tU.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Southern District of FloridaU.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Southern District of Florida<\/p>\n<p>Some of the evidence seized during the &#8220;Operation Mousetrap&#8221; raid.<\/p>\n<p>A federal grand jury later charged five suspects for their roles in the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel &#8220;Mickey&#8221; Hernandez, 38, of Miami; Frank Gonzalez, 45, of Hialeah; Alexander &#8220;Al Biggs&#8221; Walker Caraballo, 50, of Miami; Jose Luis &#8220;Lil Cuz&#8221; Diaz, Jr., also known as &#8220;Pri,&#8221; 33, of Miami Gardens; and Humberto &#8220;Kiki&#8221; Moreno, 42, of Miami, are charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.<\/p>\n<p>Hernandez and Diaz are also charged with distribution offenses. Walker and Gonzalez face additional charges for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possession of firearms and ammunition as convicted felons.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators identified Hernandez as a key distributor, with Moreno, Caraballo, and Gonzalez among his suppliers and associates, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>When Walker was arrested, agents recovered additional cocaine packaged for street-level distribution, along with bulk cash concealed in hidden compartments in his vehicle, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Additional members of the organization, including Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, Keisy Estibet Peguero, Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera, and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez, were arrested, and a federal grand jury has already charged several co-conspirators, including Mercedes-Hernandez, and additional charges have been filed against others, including cocaine suppliers based in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, authorities said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five suspects are facing charges in connection with a massive cocaine trafficking organization that had been operating out&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-258480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}