Five Georgia Residents Arrested In Connection With Money Laundering and Drug Trafficking Scheme For Jalisco Cartel

Five residents of Norcross, Georgia, were arrested in relation to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

Concretely, Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel, Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez, David Miranda Vinalay, Jerome Lewis, and Irving Joel Hernandez were arrested in a coordinated effort by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation and local law enforcement.

The individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia on April 1 and later arraigned before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

According Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr., information presented by the DEA uncovered a scheme involving drug traffickers delivering bulk currency from drug sales to a middleman in Norcross, a community 20 miles northeast of Atlanta.

The middleman then allegedly delivered the drug proceeds to Hernandez Chilel and her daugther, who moved on to laundering the proceeds.

DEA investigatiors revealed that Between September and November of 2024 several traffickers deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of suspected drug proceeds to the alleged middleman in Norcross, who then transferred the cash to Chilel and Perez.

During a period of approximately two months the criminal group allegedly laundered over $1 million in drug proceeds.

DEA investigations identified one of the primary traffickers as being a member of the CJNG, and, according to the indictment, some of the traffickers also possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl that they intended to distribute on behalf of the drug trafficking ring.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi highlighted the arrests and confirmed their connection to the Jalisco cartel.

"Thanks to the great investigative work of our federal partners and local law enforcement, five individuals working on behalf of the violent Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) have been taken off our streets," said Bondi. "We will not allow these criminal enterprises to continue profiting off of the death and destruction of American lives."

Similarly, Acting Special Agent of the DEA Atlanta Division Jae W. Chung celebrated the arrests, saying that the impact of fentanyl in U.S. communities is "devastating."

"These arrests should be a clear message to the traffickers that keeping our communities safe is our highest priority," Chung added.