Colombian trafficker who was working to smuggle a ton of cocaine into U.S. sentenced to 24 years

A drug trafficker was sentenced to 24 years in prison Tuesday along with two others for a conspiracy to bring in more than a ton of cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia, federal officials said.

Oscar Henao-Montoya pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine after the Drug Enforcement Administration worked with confidential informants to bust the operation.

He boasted in meetings that he had control of laboratories in Colombia that could produce more than a ton of cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Henao-Montoya, 58, is the younger brother of a former Norte del Valle Cartel member, federal prosecutors said. The gang rose to prominence in the 1990s and at one point, was responsible for roughly half of the cocaine trafficked into the U.S.

The DEA directed its confidential informants in meetings with Henao-Montoya and others, some of which were recorded. Prosecutors said that in April 2021 undercover agents working for the Colombian National Police were able to purchase a $16,000 “sample” of cocaine.

The sale was directed by Henao-Montoya to serve as a test for the “ton-quantity cocaine shipments” he planned to illegally import, according to prosecutors.

Court records show Henao-Montoya initially entered a plea of not guilty to multiple felony charges in 2023 but had a change-of-plea hearing in August. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of conspiring to import 500 grams and more of cocaine.

Two co-conspirators were sentenced in December after also pleading guilty to one count of cocaine importation conspiracy.