On April 1, seven individuals in Georgia and Mexico were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia related to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to a Mexico-based trafficker.
Five of these defendants, all of Norcross, Georgia — Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel, 49; Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez, 22; David Miranda Vinalay, 39; Jerome Lewis, 47; and Irving Joel Hernandez, 34 — were arrested earlier today in a coordinated effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and local law enforcement.
The defendants were arraigned before a U.S. Magistrate Judge following their arrests.
“The deadly impact of fentanyl on our communities is devastating,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung of the DEA’s Atlanta Division. “These arrests should be a clear message to the traffickers that keeping our communities safe is our highest priority.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie for the Northern District of Georgia, the indictment and other information presented in court, in September 2024, the DEA uncovered a scheme involving drug traffickers delivering bulk currency from drug sales to a middleman in Norcross.
The middleman then allegedly delivered the drug proceeds to defendants Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel (Chilel) and her daughter Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez (Perez), who then laundered the proceeds as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker.
Chilel and Perez allegedly operated a money service business (MSB) in Norcross called ‘La Pulga Esperenza’.
Between September and November 2024, DEA saw several traffickers deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of suspected drug proceeds to the middleman in Norcross, who then transferred the cash to Chilel and Perez.
Agents with IRS-CI analysed the MSB’s transactions and determined that the cash was wired to Mexico but was transferred in small increments so as not to raise suspicion by federal regulators.
During a period of approximately two months, this ring of individuals allegedly laundered over $1 million in drug proceeds smuggled to Mexico.
During the investigation, the DEA identified several alleged traffickers who transported the drug proceeds to Norcross, including defendants David Miranda Vinalay, Jerome Lewis, and Irving Joel Hernandez.
DEA identified one of the primary traffickers as a member or associate of the CJNG. Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, some of the traffickers also possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl that they intended to distribute on behalf of the drug trafficking ring.
