Eight-Year Operation Busted by Federal Authorities
In a case that underscores the challenges of combating international drug trafficking, four flight attendants have pleaded guilty to smuggling nearly $7 million in drug money to the Dominican Republic over an eight-year period. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the guilty pleas, marking the end of a significant investigation.
Abuse of airline privileges
Emmanuel Torres, 34, and Jarol Fabio, 35, both residents of New York, pleaded guilty earlier this week to charges related to the smuggling operation. Their co-defendants, Sarah Valerio Pujols, 42, of New York, and Charlie Hernandez, 42, of West New York, New Jersey, had entered guilty pleas last month. The four individuals exploited their status as flight attendants to bypass airport security, allowing them to transport millions in illicit drug proceeds undetected.
“These four flight attendants abused their privileges as flight attendants to move money for drug traffickers,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a statement. “My office is committed to staunching the illicit flow of narcotics proceeds in all of its forms. These guilty pleas show that the sky is not the limit when it comes to law enforcement’s reach.”
Details of the smuggling operation
Court documents reveal that Torres and Fabio each smuggled at least $1.5 million in drug money between 2015 and 2023. Hernandez was responsible for moving $2.5 million between 2014 and 2019, while Pujols is accused of smuggling another $1.5 million during the same period. The illicit funds were tied to narcotics sales, including fentanyl, according to the FBI.
The case was cracked open with the help of two cooperating witnesses who were arrested in October 2021 on money laundering charges. One of these witnesses provided Hernandez with $121,215 in drug money in the Bronx in December 2019, which Hernandez then split with Pujols. The pair subsequently transported the money during their flights to the Dominican Republic.
Sentencing and legal repercussions
Each of the defendants faces up to five years in prison at their sentencing hearings, which are scheduled for this fall and early next year. The case serves as a stark reminder of the lengths to which drug traffickers will go to move their profits, and the ongoing efforts by law enforcement to counteract these operations.
