MIAMI — Federal agents seized approximately 536 kilograms of cocaine, 14 firearms — including an unserialized AK-47 — and roughly $3.1 million in cash from a luxury high-rise apartment in Midtown Miami as part of a sweeping drug trafficking investigation that dismantled a cocaine pipeline running from Colombia through the Dominican Republic into South Florida.
A federal grand jury charged five defendants for their roles in the organization: Daniel “Mickey” Hernandez, 38, of Miami; Frank Gonzalez, 45, of Hialeah; Alexander “Al Biggs” Walker Caraballo, 50, of Miami; Jose Luis “Lil Cuz” Diaz Jr., 33, of Miami Gardens; and Humberto “Kiki” Moreno, 42, of Miami. All five face conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Walker and Gonzalez face additional charges for possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of firearms and ammunition as convicted felons.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Miles Aley of the DEA Miami Field Office announced the charges. The investigation, dubbed Operation Mouse Trap, targeted local retail and wholesale cocaine distributors and is part of a broader Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
Investigators identified Hernandez as a key distributor operating out of the Midtown Miami high-rise, where cocaine was stored and prepared for distribution. Moreno, Walker Caraballo and Gonzalez were identified among his suppliers and associates. The network was linked to a larger maritime trafficking operation — Operation Horseman’s Voyage — that identified a pipeline importing up to 1,700 kilograms of cocaine aboard high-end fishing vessels traveling from the Dominican Republic to Miami. That operation was allegedly led by Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, who directed cocaine shipments with the assistance of approximately 20 associates, including boat captains, enforcers and street-level distributors.
In October 2025, law enforcement arrested two defendants and seized more than $250,000 in drug proceeds concealed in a vehicle. In a separate interdiction, agents seized more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine from a vessel. After the Midtown high-rise search, Walker was arrested and agents recovered additional cocaine packaged for street-level distribution along with bulk cash concealed in hidden compartments in his vehicle. Additional members arrested in the days that followed included Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, Keisy Estibet Peguero, Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez. Additional charges have been filed against cocaine suppliers based in the Dominican Republic and Colombia.
The investigation builds on prior High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and HSTF efforts, including Operation Final Voyage, which led to the prosecution of high-level traffickers and cooperation from more than 90 defendants. DEA Miami led the investigation with support from the ATF Street Terror Offender Program team, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, City of Miami Police Department, Miami Beach Police Department, City of Homestead Police Department, City of Aventura Police Department, Sunny Isles Beach Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Florida National Guard.
If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life for the conspiracy charge. Walker and Gonzalez face additional consecutive sentences of up to life for firearms offenses and up to 15 years for possessing firearms as convicted felons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Almas Abdulla is prosecuting the Operation Mouse Trap defendants, with cases filed under case numbers 26-cr-20092 and 26-cr-20135 in the Southern District of Florida.