A man accused of being a leader for a drug trafficking cell of the Sinaloa Cartel appeared in a federal court on Monday for the first time following his extradition to the U.S. from Colombia.
Brian Donaciano Olguin-Verdugo, 41, was arrested by Colombian authorities back in 2022, one year after a federal grand jury indicted him on suspicion of orchestrating the smuggling of large amounts of cocaine into the U.S. as part of a sprawling investigation into the cartel.
He was extradited to the U.S. in May of this year in partnership with the U.S. Marshals Service and Colombian authorities.
The 41-year-old pleaded not guilty in a federal court to two felony drug trafficking charges during his first court hearing Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California’s office.
Olguin-Verdugo’s arrest was the culmination of a more than decade-long investigation that began as a probe into what originally appeared to be a small drug distribution operation in National City and Chula Vista.
Throughout the investigation, federal officials learned that the drugs the cell was selling had been supplied by the Sinaloa Cartel, evolving it into a “massive multi-national state probe,” as it was described by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The investigation resulted in the seizures of upwards of 1,397 kilograms of methamphetamine, 2,214 kilograms of cocaine, 17.2 tons of marijuana, 95.84 kilograms of heroin, and $27,892,706 in cash from drug sales, as well as the arrests of over 125 cartel members and associates.
As for Olguin-Verdugo, the U.S. Attorney’s Office expects a trial date to be set later this year, during an August hearing.
“Those who export dangerous drugs to the United States and seek to evade justice will find no place to hide,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California. “The Department of Justice appreciates the cooperation of the Colombian authorities in this matter.”
Source: KSWB
