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Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Middle District of Florida
Roger B. Handberg, United States Attorney
www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl
For Immediate Release
Friday, February 10, 2023

Sixteen Individuals Plead Guilty in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy – “Operation Titan Fall”

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that 16 individuals, charged in 3 indictments, have all pleaded guilty to their respective roles in conspiring to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl and cocaine, in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) “Operation Titan Fall” investigation. This investigation yielded evidence from three drug trafficking organizations, and each defendant faces penalties of up to life in federal prison (see chart below):

Name

Drugs, Drug Quantities, Other Charges

Date of Plea

Sentencing Date

Sentence or Sentencing Range

Alexander Acosta-Zapata

5 kilograms cocaine; 400 grams fentanyl

12/13/22

4/10/23

15 years to life

Frank Cadiz

5 kilograms cocaine

12/14/22

3/20/23

15 years to life

Adal Antonio Navas-Feliciano

400 grams fentanyl

1/18/23

4/10/23

15 years to life

Jonathan Andres Marte-Rodriguez

5 kilograms cocaine

2/8/23

TBD

10 years to life

Juan Felipe Sanchez

40 grams fentanyl

2/7/22

4/24/23

10 years to life

Nimesh Rashmikant Patel

500 grams cocaine

2/9/23

TBD

10 years to life

Joseph Juan Torres-Torres

500 grams cocaine

9/7/22

12/21/22

5 years

Gabriel Isaac Irizarry-Aponte

500 grams cocaine

2/10/23

TBD

5-40 years

Jacob Nelson

500 grams cocaine

1/25/23

4/17/23

10 years to life

Carlos Alberto Roman

cocaine, firearm w/silencer possessed in furtherance of drug offense

12/6/22

3/14/23

30 years to life

James Richard Howell

cocaine, fentanyl

12/5/22

3/14/23

Up to 20 years

Joely Manuel Burgos

40 grams fentanyl

12/28/22

3/13/23

5-40 years

Kenneth Angel Vera

cocaine

12/6/22

3/14/23

Up to 20 years

James Mirabal

5 kilograms cocaine

12/27/23

3/20/23

10 years to life

Jonathan Beharry

5 kilograms cocaine

11/29/22

2/13/23

15 years to life

Vilnarie Figueroa-Matos

5 kilograms cocaine

1/30/23

4/17/23

10 years to life

According to plea agreements and other court documents, during the course of this investigation the DEA seized an estimated 110 kilograms of cocaine along with kilograms of fentanyl through the mail, traffic stops, and search warrants. Many of the communications between Acosta-Zapata, Cadiz and their conspirators related to the “brand” or “logo” of the cocaine – for example, an anchor or Ferrari – that was visible on the exterior of the packaging of the cocaine that was seized. 

Image
A seized package with a picture of an anchor on the top of it.

Image
A seized package.

A search warrant executed on Carlos Alberto Roman’s home on August 9, 2022, yielded 19 firearms, 6 silencers, 3 flash-bang grenades, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, depicted here along with three firearms seized from Cadiz’s home.

Image
Seized ammunition, firearms, and other items.

Mirabal and his conspirators were linked to a seizure of 50 kilograms of cocaine in April 2022, and the seizure of 20 kilograms of cocaine seized in Beharry’s apartment in the Baldwin Park area in October 2022 (pictured below):

Image
Items seized from Beharry's apartment in October 2022.

In addition to controlled substances, the DEA seized proceeds and other assets used in the offenses. Upon the arrest of Beharry on October 17, 2022, the DEA seized $39,560; upon the arrest of Mirabal on October 31, 2022, 24 cellphones and $124,598 was seized (pictured below):

Image
A bag of seized currency.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Winter Garden Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Kissimmee Police Department, the Winter Park Police Department, the Clermont Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Apopka Police Department, the Ocoee Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

Operation Titan Fall is a multi-agency Organize Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCEDTF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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