Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced several defendants have been charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering for allegedly transporting thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico through El Paso, Texas to the Tampa Bay area for distribution as part of a Sinaloa Cartel-linked enterprise.
The attorney general made the announcement while speaking at a press conference in Tampa this week.
“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 statement. “The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit formed a dedicated task force whose members traveled to Texas for weeks—navigating complex surveillance and security challenges—to take this down with our partners at FDLE, HSI, and El Paso PD. With multi-million-dollar bonds and the arrest of the organization’s number two, we are holding every level of this enterprise accountable and sending a clear message that Florida will not be a market for cartel drugs.”
Today, we announced 10 arrests and the dismantling of a major Mexican transnational Sinaloa Cartel pipeline that flooded the Tampa Bay area with cocaine.
From the initial seizure of 60 kilograms in Tampa to the additional seizures and arrest of the organization’s boss, this… pic.twitter.com/zwWP3Kx8LT
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) October 27, 2026
According to Attorney General Uthmeier, the Sinaloa-associated cell transported the cocaine through the Texas land border allegedly to Jorge Ramiro Zamonsett in El Paso region. Zamonsett is said to have organized commercial semi-trucks and accompanying chase vehicles of the contraband allegedly to Daniel Pinales in the Tampa Bay area.
Pinales then redistributed the cocaine through a network of deliveries that included several individuals lasting from December 2025 to July, Attorney General Uthmeier claims. He was arrested after being identified handling three duffle bags containing approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine by Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detectives and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Officials on July 11.
Overall, investigators seized 99 kilograms of cocaine and 60 pounds of methamphetamine from the El Paso area in July and October respectively.
Both Pinales and Zamonsett were charged with felony conspiracy to commit racketeering. Pinales was also charged with felony substantive racketeering charges.
Others arrested included Erick Manuel Gomez Tapia, also known as "Canelo." Tapia is said to be the number two in the organization by investigators.
Tapia was also charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering and substantive racketeering charges. In addition, Jesus Morales, Joaquin Enriquez, Arturo Carlos, Tyler Green, Marice Higgins, Miguel Alejandro Carrasco-Lechuga, and Brian Varner were charged on racketeering charges.
"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 amount of cocaine that Daniel Pinales was putting on the streets of Pinellas County is simply astronomical. I want to recognize the tenacious work done by our Narcotics Division detectives and other members of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the support from Attorney General Uthmeier and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a job well done in dismantling this organization and putting these people in jail where they belong.”
