$5M reward offered for information leading to arrest, conviction of major Mexican drug cartel member

WASHINGTON — The Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) announced a $5 million reward Tuesday for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Audias Flores Silva (Flores Silva), following multiple investigations by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and other U.S. agencies. These actions are part of a whole of government approach to combating drug trafficking and transnational organized crime globally and in Mexico.

Flores-Silva was charged in a federal indictment on August 13, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The indictment charges Flores-Silva with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and one kilogram or more of heroin for importation into the United States, as well as carrying, using and possessing a firearm in relation to a drug offense. In 2002, Flores Silva was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina for engaging in narcotics trafficking activity. He was later convicted and served a five-year sentence before being released and returning to Mexico. In 2016, Mexican authorities arrested Flores Silva after being accused of orchestrating an April 2015, ambush against Mexican police officers in Soyatlan, Jalisco. Flores Silva was later released from Mexican prison after fighting his charges in Mexican courts.

This reward is offered under the Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP). More than 75 transnational criminals and major narcotics traffickers have been brought to justice under the NRP and the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) since the NRP’s inception in 1986.

HSI special agents across the United States and around the world remain on the front lines of the global fight to identify, disrupt and dismantle cartels and other transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) engaged in illegal narcotics smuggling activities. HSI utilizes its expansive statutory authorities, undercover capabilities, border search authority, robust domestic and international footprint, criminal analysis capabilities and strong interagency partnerships at home and abroad to launch complex criminal investigations designed to expose and take down sophisticated networks that produce, transport, broker, finance, sell and distribute illegal drugs. These efforts have resulted in some of the most significant arrests of traffickers and seizures of illicit drugs across the globe.

HSI is a directorate and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 Special Agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Tipsters who want to report suspicious or criminal activity can contact the ICE Tip Line by:

• Calling (866) 347-2423 from the United States and Canada.
• Calling (802) 872-6199 from any country in the world; translation services are available for tipsters who speak foreign languages.
• Completing the online Tip Form