Cocaine lab owner pleads guilty to import conspiracy after 6,000 lbs seized

TAMPA, Fla. — A clandestine cocaine laboratory owner has pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States following the seizure of over 6,000 pounds of the drug, said the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).

Edgar Cubillos-Burbano, 63, of Colombia, a/k/a “Don Julio,” “Julio El Quemado,” and “Efrain Ospina,” has pleaded guilty to conspiring to import five or more kilograms of cocaine into the United States, said US Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

Mr  Cubillos-Burbano faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Cubillos-Burbano was arrested in Necocli, Colombia, in November 2021 under a provisional arrest warrant. He was returned to the United States in September 2023.

According to the plea agreement, Mr Cubillos-Burbano was the owner and operator of clandestine cocaine laboratories in northern Colombia and was permitted to operate these laboratories with the permission of Clan Del Golfo, Colombia’s largest drug cartel. He said he supplied various purchasers, including Clan Del Golfo, and the cocaine was sent either to Central America for ultimate importation to the United States or routed to Europe.

In July 2015, Colombian law enforcement seized approximately 3,082 kilograms of cocaine near the shoreline of Capurgana, Colombia, on the border between Colombia and Panama. One of Mr Cubillos-Burbano’s cocaine purchasers was reportedly responsible for smuggling this shipment, half of which was intended for the United States.

After his arrest in Colombia in connection with this case, Cubillos-Burbano admitted his involvement in this smuggling venture to federal agents. He further admitted to operating clandestine cocaine laboratories with the permission of Clan Del Golfo, including a laboratory capable of producing 300 to 400 kilograms of cocaine every 15 days.

The Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida is leading the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza is prosecuting it.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which establishes permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations involved in large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities.

The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force comprises agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.

The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché’s Office at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, and Colombian authorities provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition from Colombia of Cubillos-Burbano.