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Fishing Boat Owner Pleads Guilty In Drug Smuggling Case

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2009

TAMPA - The owner of three fishing boats that were seized after authorities found them smuggling cocaine from Colombia pleaded guilty this morning to a federal drug offense.

Adelmo Perlaza-Montano, 50, faces 10 years to life in prison on a charge of conspiring to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

Perlaza-Montano, who was extradited recently from Colombia, agreed to cooperate in Operation Panama Express, a wide-ranging, Tampa-based investigation of maritime drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The defendant belonged to a drug trafficking organization headed by Daniel Segura-Rodriguez, who also has been arrested in Colombia and is awaiting extradition, investigators say.

For at least six years, Perlaza-Montano owned or was administrator for fishing vessels used to transport multi-ton shipments of cocaine to Mexico, according to his plea agreement. The drugs were destined for the United States.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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