Three residents of Laplace, Louisiana—Andres Cruz Garcia, 33; Dariel Hernandez Garcia, 33; and Ricardo Jimenez Ramos, 58—have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The plea was entered before United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion. U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced the development.
Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and could be sentenced up to life imprisonment. They also face a fine of up to $10 million, at least five years of supervised release after imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment fee for each count.
Court documents indicate that on September 10, 2023, deputies from the St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s Office seized 69 kilograms of cocaine from the residence of co-conspirator Edel Freyre-Soto in Laplace. Further investigation by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and local deputies uncovered that Cruz Garcia, Hernandez Garcia, Jimenez Ramos, and others had conspired to carry out large-scale cocaine transactions using a vessel off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. On March 19, 2024, DEA agents seized another 85 kilograms of cocaine from a Laplace residence shared by Hernandez Garcia, Jimenez Ramos, and co-conspirator Marcos Quintero Otero. The drugs had been smuggled through a marina at Grand Isle with plans for distribution across the United States.
Sentencing for Hernandez Garcia and Jimenez Ramos is scheduled for June 2, 2026. Cruz Garcia will be sentenced on June 9, 2026.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative created under Executive Order 14159. The HSTF brings together multiple government agencies to combat criminal cartels and transnational criminal organizations operating within the U.S., including those involved in human trafficking and drug smuggling activities.
U.S. Attorney Courcelle stated: “The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.”
He added: “In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.”
HSTF New Orleans includes personnel from agencies such as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), DEA, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF), with prosecutions led by attorneys from the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Courcelle commended both DEA agents and St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office for their efforts in this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Sarver (now with Western District) and Lynn Schiffman are handling prosecution duties.
