Guatemalan national indicted on international drug trafficking charges following ICE HSI-led investigation, remains a fugitive
SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed in San Diego against a Guatemalan national, following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) March 18.
The indictment returned on Nov. 1, 2018, charges Axel Bladimir Montejo Saenz, 35, aka “Mosh,” aka “Kraken,” with conspiracy to distribute cocaine intended for unlawful importation and conspiracy to distribute cocaine on board a vessel. Montejo remains a fugitive.
The indictment alleges that the conspiracy continued up to and including November 2018 and involved the distribution of cocaine in the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and elsewhere.
“This high-level indictment highlights the success of HSI’s collaborative efforts with the government of Guatemala and all of our foreign and domestic law enforcement partners. This partnership has resulted in significant seizures of narcotics, firearms and U.S. currency from international cartels,” said Chad Plantz, Special Agent in Charge for HSI San Diego. “HSI is committed to bringing international drug trafficking cartel members to justice and to dismantling these criminal organizations.”
“Today marks another important step in disrupting the corridor of illicit drug trafficking from Central America into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “This complex, multi-agency investigation demonstrates the breadth of the Department’s mission to stop the flow of narcotics well before they reach our shores.” U.S. Attorney Grossman thanked the prosecution team, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their excellent work on this case.
“DEA and our law enforcement partners are determined to bring members of transnational criminal organizations that inundate our country with cocaine to justice in the United States,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “We will continue to work with our foreign partners to stop the importation of illicit drugs.”
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 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.
Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat international drug trafficking @HSISanDiego.
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