Former Honduran National Police Officer Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Import Coc
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 10, 2021
Former Honduran National Police Officer Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Import Cocaine Into The United States And Related Weapons Offense
Ludwig Criss Zelaya Romero Is the Seventh Former Member of the Honduran National Police To Be Convicted And Sentenced For Drug Trafficking Offenses In SDNY
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that LUDWIG CRISS ZELAYA ROMERO, a former member of the Honduran National Police (“HNP”), was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and conspiring to use machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of drug trafficking. ZELAYA ROMERO previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, who imposed today’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Ludwig Criss Zelaya Romero was a lawless law enforcement officer, a purported crime-fighter working for a murderous criminal enterprise. For the personal role he played in cocaine trafficking and multiple murders, Zelaya Romero has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term.”
According to the Superseding Indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:
Between at least approximately 2004 and 2014, ZELAYA ROMERO worked with members of a drug trafficking organization known as the Cachiros, which was a prolific and violent criminal syndicate that relied on connections to politicians, military personnel, and law enforcement to transport cocaine to, within, and from Honduras. During that time, and while ZELAYA ROMERO was purportedly enforcing the law as member of the HNP, he participated in the Cachiros’ criminal enterprise by engaging in cocaine trafficking and violence. Among other things, ZELAYA ROMERO participated in Cachiros drug shipments, recruited other members of the HNP to join the Cachiros, located teams of hitmen in Honduras to carry out murders for the Cachiros, and himself committed and attempted to commit murders to protect and strengthen the Cachiros’ criminal enterprise.
More:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-honduran-national-police-officer-sentenced-12-years-prison-conspiring-import-0
"You've done a heck of a job, Ludwig."
