Owners and employees of several Long Island and Miami import-export businesses have been arrested following an investigation led by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations unit and the New York branch of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation service.

Those arrested allegedly employed an international money laundering scheme relying on the complexities of global trade and the use of their businesses on Long Island, New York and in Florida, to launder millions of US dollars for transnational drug traffickers and other criminals.

Mobile phone sales

The import-export businesses operated by the defendants on Long Island and in Miami were used to launder money between the US and South America.

The defendants allegedly took in bulk cash deliveries from drug dealers and other criminals and used the import-export businesses to disguise the transfer of money through the use of international mobile phone sales.

Undercover wiretaps

The US government’s investigation included extensive court-ordered wiretaps of the defendants while undercover federal agents posing as drug dealers were directed to deliver cash to the defendants in order to move money to drug dealers in South America.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.