Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrests of four individuals charged with allegedly trafficking approximately 60 kilograms (132 pounds) of cocaine valued at $2.1 million from El Paso, Texas to Tampa, Florida through a press statement this week.
“This operation dismantled a dangerous cartel pipeline flooding Florida communities with cocaine,” Uthmeier said. “Thanks to the outstanding work of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, FDLE, and our Statewide Prosecutors, we have removed 60 kilograms of poison from our streets and are holding these traffickers fully accountable.”
The arrests follow an investigation by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office in partnership with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement through the State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication (SAFE) program into surveillance on a drug trafficking organization on June 11 in which investigators identified a monthly supply pattern of white freightliner semi-trucks.
According to the attorney general, investigators were able to identity two men retrieving bags from the trucks in Wesley Chapel and transporting them to a handoff vehicle in a Tampa Bay parking lot operated by Daniel Cruz Pinales. Law enforcement later stopped Pinales' vehicle and discovered three suitcases containing an estimated 60 kilograms (132 pounds) of cocaine following a field test.
Pinales and three other men, Arturo Carlos, Joaquin Enriquez, and Jesus Guadalupe Chan Morales - were later charged with trafficking 400 to 150 kilograms of cocaine and conspiracy. More charges for the men could be filed, the attorney general added.
Each face a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in state prison under the current charges if convicted.
Senior Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Ryan Shaw in the Sixth and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits will prosecute the case moving forward.
Attorney General Uthmeier's announcement follows the conviction of two individuals for cocaine trafficking earlier this year. Uthmeier also announced the arrest of several individuals allegedly connected to a large-scale drug trafficking operation in Palm Beach County back in November 2025.
