United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Today, Alexander Valencia Garcia will be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Marcia M. Henry at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on an indictment charging him with two counts of international cocaine distribution. On November 7, 2023, the defendant, a Colombian citizen, was arrested in Florida on an arrest warrant issued from the Eastern District of New York. On the same day, his co-defendants—Cesar Valencia Garcia, Diego Beltran Alvarez, Oscar Valencia Florez, and Jhonatan Samboni Ruiz—were all arrested in Colombia, and their extradition is pending.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Frank A. Tarentino, III, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division, Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department, and Dominick L. Chiumento, Acting Superintendent, New York State Police, announced the arrests and arraignment.

“As alleged, these five co-defendants were members of an international drug trafficking organization that produced and exported hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Colombia to the United States,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “We will not relent in our efforts to bring to justice those who are responsible for trafficking dangerous drugs into our communities whether here or in a foreign country.”

Mr. Peace extended his appreciation to the DEA’s office in Bogota, Colombia, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Department of State, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché’s Office in Colombia, the Colombian National Police, and the Government of Colombia.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said: “Alexander Valencia Garcia has been brought to justice for his alleged role in a multi-million-dollar cocaine trafficking conspiracy spanning from Colombia to New York. DEA and our law enforcement partners do not rest and continue to pursue those responsible for bringing illegal drugs into the United States. I commend the DEA New York Drug Enforcement Task Force and the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York for their tireless efforts in this investigation."

“Our job is to identify, investigate, and arrest anyone responsible for distributing illegal drugs throughout New York City, wherever they are based,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “I thank and commend the dedicated NYPD investigators who partner every day with our federal task force colleagues for extending their efforts beyond our borders to stop this poison from reaching our streets.”

NYSP Chiumento said, “The coordination and investigative persistence of all partners responsible for this indictment, sends a strong message that we will not tolerate dangerous drugs coming into our country or state. We will continue to work vigilantly to put dangerous individuals like Mr. Garcia behind bars. I want to thank our members and law enforcement partners for their tenacious dedication to tracking illegal drugs and intercepting them at their source before they infiltrate our communities."

According to the indictment, court filings, and statements made in Court, the defendant and his co-defendants were members of a sophisticated drug trafficking organization that operated in southwestern Colombia. The organization produced and transported thousands of kilograms of cocaine to locations along the coast of Colombia so that the cocaine could eventually be exported and smuggled into the United States. Valencia Garcia specifically helped oversee production in labs as well as transportation of finished cocaine. As part of the investigation, law enforcement authorities seized over 500 kilograms of cocaine attributable to the defendant’s drug trafficking enterprise.

The arrests of Alexander Valencia Garcia and his co-defendants are the result of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the DEA. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The charges in the indictment allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants face up to life in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Wang is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:
ALEXANDER VALENCIA GARCIA
Age: 57
Colombia
CESAR VALENCIA GARCIA
Age: 55
Colombia
DIEGO BELTRAN ALVAREZ
Age: 32
Colombia
OSCAR VALENCIA FLOREZ
Age: 24
Colombia
JHONATAN SAMBONI RUIZ
Age: 34
Colombia
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-513 (PKC)