Colombian-Based Cocaine Importers Indicted in Drug Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to the FARC

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - A third superseding indictment recently unsealed in the Eastern District of Louisiana charges six members and associates of a Colombian-Russian drug trafficking organization with federal drug trafficking offenses, including conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

The superseding indictment charges Russian nationals with conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization by means of their conspiracy to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, also known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP).

"Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) operations are, at their core, about one thing …protecting our communities from the very real threat of violence posed by drug trafficking organizations," said U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. "The shared mission of HSTF remains constant; to enforce the laws of the land and to protect the public that we are proud to serve."

The superseding indictment charges ALEXANDER ALTERGOTT, age 57, of Russia, LUCA DETTO, age 45, of Italy, OLEG KHAZOV, age 39, of Russia, DIAGO GOMEZ-MORILLO a/k/a EFATA, of Colombia, VITALII ZHIKHAREV, age 41, of Russia, and BORIS YAKOVLEV, of Russia, for violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, the Transnational Drug Trafficking Act. Additionally, it charges these individuals with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The third superseding indictment added charges against ALTERGOTT's co-conspirators.

Count 1 charges ALTERGOTT, DETTO, KHAZOV, GOMEZ-MORILLO a/k/a EFATA, ZHIKHAREV, and YAKOVLEV with conspiring to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846. Count 2 charges ALTERGOTT, DETTO, KHAZOV, and ZHIKHAREV with conspiring to distribute cocaine for the purpose of unlawfully importing it into the United States, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959(a), 959(d), 960(a)(3), 960(b)(1)(B)(ii), and 963. Count 3 charges DETTO, KHAZOV, and ZHIKHAREV with distribution of cocaine for the purpose of unlawfully importing it into the United States, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959(a), 959(d), 960(a)(3), and 960(b)(1)(B)(ii). Count 4 charges ALTERGOTT and ZHIKHAREV with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP).

FARC-EP is a dissident faction of the FARC terrorist group and emerged after its rejection of a 2016 peace agreement between FARC and the Colombian government. FARC-EP is Colombia's most powerful and violent dissident group and has continued to carry out criminal acts, including assassinations, extortion, hostage-takings, and armed assaults. The group focuses most of its attacks on Colombian government and military targets but has also attacked critical infrastructure, Colombian civilians, and U.S. military personnel in the country. FARC-EP equips its members with firearms, machine guns, mines, and bombs.

The United States designated FARC-EP a foreign terrorist organization in December 2021. FARC-EP partners with other terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), and Nueva Familia Michoacana.

For Count 1, ALTERGOTT, DETTO, KHAZOV, ZHIKHAREV, YAKOVLEV, and GOMEZ-MORILLO each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000,000, and at least 5 years of supervised release. For Count 2, ALTERGOTT, DETTO, KHAZOV, and ZHIKHAREV each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000,000, and at least 5 years of supervised release. For Count 3, DETTO, KHAZOV, and ZHIKHAREV each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000,000, and at least 5 years of supervised release. For Count 4, ALTERGOTT and ZHIKHAREV each face up to 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release. Each of these individuals also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per charged count.

United States Attorney David I. Courcelle reiterated that the third superseding indictment is merely an allegation and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and additional assistance was provided by the Justice Department's Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá and Office of International Affairs who worked with the Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación of the Colombian Attorney General's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Rachal Cassagne of the Narcotics Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

Participating Agencies:

Domestic Investigative Agencies:

• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Homeland Security Investigation
• United States Border Patrol
• United States Marshals Service
• Louisiana State Police
• Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office
• Gretna Police Department
• Kenner Police Department

International Investigative Agencies:

• DEA Offices in Cartagena, Colombia; and Rome, Italy.
• The Colombian National Police
• Italian National Police.
• INTERPOL office in Rome
• Investigative Unit of the Carabinieri in Milan

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New Orleans comprises agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

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