Atlanta Man Gets 10 Years for Cocaine Importation and Laundering More Than $1 Million to Mexico
A federal court has sentenced Carlos Salazar-Garcia, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for a cocaine-importation and money-laundering scheme that used sham produce companies and cross-border shipments.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced the sentence on 3 September 2026. Salazar-Garcia had pleaded guilty on 20 April 2026 to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, cocaine importation and money-laundering charges.
Sham companies, cocaine shipments and proceeds sent to Mexico
According to information presented in court, federal agents in Laredo, Texas intercepted a shipment from Mexico in December 2022 containing 119 pounds of cocaine concealed among electronic transformers. The shipment was destined for a farmers market in Clayton County, Georgia, and investigators linked it to a sham produce company operated by Salazar-Garcia.
In November 2023, agents at the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas intercepted another shipment containing approximately 66 pounds of cocaine concealed among limes. Authorities said the limes were headed to another sham produce company operated by Salazar-Garcia.
Investigators further determined that Salazar-Garcia and co-defendant Andrea Principe used a variety of financial transactions to launder more than $1 million in drug proceeds back to Mexico.
Principe, 37, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty on 30 June 2026 to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Her sentencing is scheduled for 15 October 2026.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The prosecution forms part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative targeting cartels, transnational criminal organisations and related criminal activity.
