A metro Atlanta man is facing a decade behind bars for running an elaborate scheme that used fake companies to import cocaine from Mexico, hidden inside shipments of fruit and electronics. Carlos Salazar-Garcia, 37, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after admitting he laundered more than $1 million in drug proceeds for Mexican traffickers.
According to CBS Atlanta, Salazar-Garcia pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, cocaine importation, and money laundering. The U.S. Department of Justice says he pleaded guilty in April, formally admitting to all three federal charges after nearly a year of law enforcement interdictions against his operation. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said Salazar-Garcia attempted to smuggle nearly 200 pounds of cocaine into the United States as part of the scheme.
Federal agents seized the cocaine shipments over the course of roughly a year, tracing back to companies Salazar-Garcia operated that officials say were connected to both the electronic transformer and lime shipments used to conceal the drugs. In Laredo, Texas, agents found 119 pounds of cocaine hidden among electronic transformers — a shipment that was headed to a farmers market in Clayton County, Georgia. Border agents in McAllen, Texas, later intercepted another 66 pounds of cocaine hidden in a shipment of limes.
A Co-Defendant Still Awaiting Sentencing
Salazar-Garcia was not operating alone. Andrea Principe, 37, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, and per prosecutors she is scheduled to be sentenced in October. The Department of Justice specifies that Principe entered her guilty plea on June 30, 2026, and that her sentencing hearing is set for October 15, 2026.
Together, Salazar-Garcia and Principe laundered more than $1 million in drug proceeds tied to the smuggling operation. The case moved through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after a federal grand jury returned a multi-count indictment with forfeiture provisions against both defendants on February 11, 2025, according to court filings reviewed by PacerMonitor. Beyond his prison term, Salazar-Garcia will serve five years of supervised release once he completes his sentence.
Investigation Spanned Years and Multiple Border Crossings
The interdictions against Salazar-Garcia's drug ring stretched back further than his eventual guilty plea suggests. The Department of Justice notes that the effort included a seizure of 119 pounds of cocaine in Laredo, followed by another seizure of 66 pounds of cocaine in McAllen.
The case involved collaborative federal law enforcement efforts, including the DEA Atlanta Division, according to the Department of Justice, and was prosecuted by federal prosecutors. Salazar-Garcia received a 120-month sentence in federal prison.
Metro Atlanta's Recurring Role as a Trafficking Hub
This is far from the first time investigators have found metro Atlanta's produce and logistics hubs used to mask major narcotics shipments. In August 2024, federal agents executed a record-setting seizure of over 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a truckload of celery at the Atlanta State Farmers Market in Forest Park, Clayton County — a case Hoodline reported on at the time.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers intercepted $18 million worth of meth concealed in squash on May 22, 2024, illustrating that traffickers have used produce shipments to hide narcotics. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers seized meth disguised as onions on February 25, 2022, another example of traffickers using food shipments as concealment.
Similar produce-based concealment tactics have surfaced far outside Georgia as well, as Hoodline has previously reported. The case also draws attention to metro Atlanta's alleged role in the smuggling operation.
Federal enforcement efforts related to the Salazar-Garcia case remain part of the broader context. The broader enforcement context has also been covered by 11Alive. With Salazar-Garcia's sentence now finalized, questions remain about whether Principe's sentencing next month will shed further light on the broader network tied to the laundered proceeds, or whether additional indictments could follow.
