Drug trafficker who brought thousands of kilos of cocaine to Chicago, other parts of US sentenced to 30 years

CHICAGO - An international drug trafficker who transported thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the Chicago area and across the country has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

Luis Eduardo Gonzalez Garcia, 55, launched a sophisticated network of fake companies and warehouses to distribute the cocaine and launder of $50 million in narcotics proceeds.

Some warehouses were located in Chicago, Naperville, Arlington Heights and Plainfield. There were also more located in Texas and Georgia.

Gonzalez Garcia instructed warehouse operators to set up front companies and register them with local governments under the guise of being legitimate businesses. The front companies would claim to sell a range of things including furniture, snack food and laundry detergent.

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The companies would hire employees to conceal the distribution of the cocaine through the warehouses.

Drugs and cash would be concealed in box pallets containing the goods that the front companies purported to sell.

The "dirty" pallets would then be transported to and from Mexico on semis driven by unwitting drivers.

"By successfully laundering tens of millions of drug proceeds back down to himself and his cartel partners in Mexico, defendant not only undoubtedly enriched himself but also enriched the Mexican drug cartels – some of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world," Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean J.B. Franzblau argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. 

In addition to his sentence, Gonzalez Darcia was fined $1.5 million.