Mexican National Pleads Guilty in Cross-Border Drug and Money Laundering Case
A Mexican man extradited to the United States has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to a large-scale cocaine trafficking and money laundering operation that stretched across multiple U.S. states and into Mexico.
Gilberto Alarcon-Holguin, also known as "Beto," 57, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. on Wednesday. The charges include conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering. The offenses carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, along with a potential $10 million fine.
Federal prosecutors said the case stems from an investigation that began in 2017 when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized 10 kilograms of cocaine from a co-conspirator. Investigators tracked a phone number tied to the delivery, which led them to Alarcon-Holguin and his associates.
On October 19, 2017, HSI agents carried out a controlled delivery using 10 packages of fake cocaine to a motel parking lot in Corfu, Genesee County. The drugs were handed off to Eduardo Valdez, who was reportedly on the phone with Alarcon-Holguin during the exchange. State police later stopped the vehicle Valdez was riding in and recovered nearly $260,000 in cash.
Over the course of the investigation, federal agents uncovered a drug distribution network that moved cocaine from Mexico into U.S. cities including Buffalo and Louisville, Kentucky. According to court documents, Alarcon-Holguin directed co-conspirators, including Edgar Pavia and Adrian Goudelock, in the shipment of narcotics and the laundering of proceeds.
One shipment alone involved 40 kilograms of cocaine delivered to Buffalo in June 2018. Prosecutors said Goudelock received several large deliveries brokered by Pavia and supplied by Alarcon-Holguin. Instructions were also given on how to package and mark cash being sent back to Mexico, including wrapping money into bundles of $10,000.
Additional seizures linked to the conspiracy included 17 kilograms of cocaine in West Seneca, multiple shipments to Kentucky, and more than $1.1 million in cash recovered from a commercial truck driver in Chicago. In total, approximately $2.6 million in suspected drug proceeds were seized during the multi-year investigation.
The case involved cooperation among multiple agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the New York State Police, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, and Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Unit. Law enforcement officials in El Paso, Texas, and Mexico also assisted, with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs playing a key role in securing Alarcon-Holguin’s extradition.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 3, 2025.