NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — An investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division landed a Colombian man in federal prison for two and a half years for his role in a scheme to smuggle more than 1,500 kilograms of cocaine into the Hampton Roads. Yunier Renteria-Renteria, 28, of Colombia, received the 30-month prison sentence May 8 at the U.S. District Court in Newport News. He was the third and final conspirator to be sentenced for the drug trafficking plot.
“These three individuals attempted to smuggle more than two tons of cocaine onto the streets of our Virginia communities,” said HSI Washington, D.C. Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon. “The amount of damage this quantity of poison could have done is staggering. HSI Washington, D.C. will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to dismantle such drug trafficking networks.”
According to the investigation, Renteria and his co-conspirators, Luis Valencia-Renteria, 27, of Colombia, and Cesar Rodriguez, 30, of Ecuador, were part of a group attempting to move the cocaine into the United States using a “go-fast” boat off the coast of Virginia. Go-fast boats are frequently used to transport large quantities of cocaine from the Colombian coast to larger transfer vessels en route to the United States.
On March 17, 2023, a maritime patrol aircraft spotted the conspirators’ go-fast boat. When the boat’s crew became aware of law enforcement’s presence, they began to dump their cargo into the ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard later recovered the jettisoned cargo, which included 1,504 kilograms of cocaine.
Valencia-Renteria pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine on board a vessel Aug. 3, 2023. Rodriguez pled guilty on Aug. 14, 2023. Renteria pled guilty Jan. 3.
Valencia-Renteria and Rodriguez were each sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Jan. 9.
This investigation was conducted by HSI Norfolk and DEA Washington. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multiagency approach.
Anyone with information regarding crime is encouraged to call the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.
Learn more about HSI’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSI_DC.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.