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Crime & Courts

Operator of Sham Produce Companies Sentenced to Federal Prison for Cocaine Importation and Money Laundering

Carlos Salazar-Garcia received a ten-year sentence for using sham companies to import cocaine and launder proceeds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 3, 2026, 10:31 a.m. ET
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ATLANTA – Carlos Salazar-Garcia, 37, of Atlanta, was to ten years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine importation, and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced on September 3, 2026. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Salazar-Garcia used sham produce companies to import cocaine concealed in fruit and electronics shipments. In December 2022, federal agents in Laredo, Texas, found 119 pounds of cocaine hidden among electronic transformers destined for a farmers market in Clayton County, Georgia. In November 2023, agents in McAllen, Texas, intercepted approximately 66 pounds of cocaine concealed in a shipment of limes destined for another sham produce company operated by Salazar-Garcia. The investigation also found that Salazar-Garcia and co-defendant Andrea Principe laundered over a million dollars in drug proceeds to Mexico. Salazar-Garcia pleaded guilty on April 20, 2026. Andrea Principe, 37, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty on June 30, 2026, to conspiracy to commit money laundering and is scheduled for sentencing on October 15, 2026. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwayne A. Brown Jr. and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Palumbo.

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  1. Version 13 Sept 2026, 14:31current

    First published.

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