ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest and conviction of three Honduran nationals indicted on charges connected to their roles as leaders in a drug-trafficking operation.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment in 2015 charging six people with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Officials are offering $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of two brothers and their mother, who are believed to be armed and dangerous.
According to court documents and allegations in the indictment, from 2006 until the date of the indictment, two of the brothers and their mother were leaders in a drug trafficking cartel identified by authorities as one of the largest in Honduras. The mother is alleged to have assisted her sons in importation, transportation, and distribution of cocaine, some of which was headed to the U.S.
After his extradition, Noe Montes-Bobadilla was convicted, and, in April 2019, sentenced to 37 years’ imprisonment on the drug-trafficking charge.