Two Orlando men have been convicted for their roles in an armed robbery plot directed by the Sinaloa Cartel, targeting what the conspirators believed was a massive shipment of fentanyl and methamphetamine hidden somewhere in South Florida. A federal jury reached the verdict against Kevin Albornos-Martinez, 29, and Johan Landazury-Albornos, 24, following a 12-day trial in Miami.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the two men were found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. Federal prosecutors say the planned heist targeted 45 kilograms of methamphetamine, 30 kilograms of fentanyl, and cash drug proceeds — a haul the defendants believed belonged to a rival cartel operation. As WPEC reported, the plot was described by the DOJ as directed by the Sinaloa Cartel and aimed squarely at a South Florida drug trafficker.
A Sting Built Around a Fake $300,000 Deal
The drug shipment the defendants were plotting to steal never actually existed. Court filings reviewed by PacerMonitor show the intended target was actually an undercover officer who had arranged a controlled purchase of 100 pounds of crystal methamphetamine for $300,000, part of an investigation launched in August 2024 by Homeland Security Investigations and the Broward County Sheriff's Office. Undercover agents in that operation communicated directly with cartel operatives based in Mexico, according to the filings.
Federal authorities say the scheme was directed from Mexico by Santiago Carillo-Piz, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel cell leader who remains a fugitive. Investigators say Carillo-Piz instructed the Orlando-based defendants to organize an armed crew capable of pulling off the heist, prompting them to recruit co-conspirators from across the country — including multiple members of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan transnational criminal organization that has expanded its footprint across several U.S. states in recent years.
Arrested While Testing Weapons for the Heist
The operation ended before any shots were fired. Federal agents and local law enforcement officers arrested the defendants in South Florida while they were testing firearms and making final preparations to carry out the robbery, seizing weapons in the process, per the Justice Department's account.
The case against Albornos-Martinez and Landazury-Albornos is only part of a much larger prosecution. Following their trial verdict, a total of nine defendants have now been convicted in connection with the broader federal investigation into the robbery scheme, according to Infobae. The outlet notes that the investigation remains open with respect to Carillo-Piz, the alleged Mexican cell leader, leaving unresolved questions about the cartel's broader supply chain in South Florida.
Both convicted men now face up to 40 years in federal prison, with final sentences to be determined by a federal district judge, Infobae reports. Federal judges will calculate those sentences using advisory guidelines alongside statutory factors.
Part of a Broader Federal Crackdown on the Cartel
The prosecution lands amid an intensified federal campaign against the Sinaloa Cartel's infrastructure. The Justice Department designated the organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February 2025, part of an expanded federal strategy against Latin American drug syndicates that gives prosecutors enhanced enforcement tools.
That pressure campaign has also reached the cartel's founding leadership. In July, Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia was sentenced in federal court to life in prison and ordered to forfeit $15 billion, according to the Justice Department, after controlling cartel operations for nearly four decades. The South Florida case involving the two Orlando men stands as one more thread in that same nationwide effort to dismantle the cartel's operations, even as its alleged cell leader in this plot remains at large.
