MIAMI (Reuters) – The Spanish head of a transatlantic cocaine-smuggling ring dubbed “Los Miami” was sentenced in federal court yesterday to 150 years in prison on charges of laundering more than $14 million through waterfront condos and exotic sports cars.
A jury convicted Álvaro López Tardón, 39, of more than a dozen money-laundering charges in June.
US District Judge Joan Lenard also ordered $14 million in property forfeitures and a $2 million fine.
Prosecutors said López Tardón was the head of an international narcotics trafficking and money-laundering syndicate that distributed 8 tons of South American cocaine in Madrid and laundered the proceeds in Miami.
The money was smuggled into Miami by couriers and wire transfers through López Tardón’s exotic car dealership and other companies he controlled in Madrid, prosecutors added.
His trial included testimony from members of the Spanish National Police, a member of the Spanish national wiretapping agency and the Spanish tax authority.