Commercial trucks linked to alleged Florida cocaine route
By Cartel Insider Wire Desk · Edited by Mica Treviño
Original reporting: Ríodoce Narcotráfico
What happened
Ríodoce details an investigation into an alleged Mexico-to-Florida trafficking network using commercial vehicles, with arrests and a 60-kilogram cocaine delivery.
Reporting and context
U.S. investigators uncovered an alleged Sinaloa Cartel cocaine route that used commercial vehicles to move drugs from the Mexican border to Florida, according to Ríodoce. The outlet described a network operating through Ciudad Juárez and El Paso before crossing Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to reach Tampa Bay.
Ríodoce reported the arrests of Erick Manuel Gómez Tapia, known as El Canelo; Jorge Ramiro Zamonsett; and Miguel Alejandro Carrasco Lechuga. Authorities identified Gómez Tapia as a senior figure in the network, accused Zamonsett of coordinating transport logistics and alleged that Carrasco Lechuga handled operating funds and surveillance.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the investigation dismantled a major Sinaloa Cartel distribution route. The source graphic from his Office of Statewide Prosecution describes charges against 10 defendants in a cartel-linked racketeering case.
The investigation involved the DEA, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Using informants and undercover agents, investigators identified a July 11 delivery in Tampa Bay involving three duffel bags containing approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine, the article reported.
After more than three months of investigative work, authorities arrested Daniel Pinales, described as an alleged local distributor. Ríodoce said information from Pinales helped investigators identify transport couriers and reach other alleged organizers. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri described the seizure as the county’s largest from a single trafficker in 40 years.
The article also examines how trafficking networks operate inside the United States. Former DEA special-operations official Mike Vigil told Ríodoce that powerful distributors maintain lower public profiles than their counterparts in Mexico and work through organized local networks. His assessment provides context for the commercial transport operation described by investigators.
Ríodoce said a possible family relationship between Carrasco Lechuga and Raúl Alberto Carrasco Lechuga, known as El Chore, remained unconfirmed by Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office at the time of publication. The article originally appeared in Ríodoce’s November 8, 2026 print edition.
Original reporting: Ríodoce.