Laundering drug money through the porn industry and other federal cases of note in South Florida
Just a small sampling of the drug-related charges in and around Miami from 2000 to 2023, part of my project to map arrests and court activity along America's southern border
I’ve hit 25 federal cases in the Southern District of Florida that are now included on Mapping the Border, all involving drug-related charges filed from 2000 to 2023. Still a small sample size, and a long way from being able to draw larger-scale conclusions about federal law enforcement.
But here are a few of the noteworthy cases that I’ve come across so far:
Importing drugs in Florida, laundering it through three porn companies in California
Date: Oct. 31, 2000
Location: Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale
A grand jury brought charges against multiple defendants for operating a drug trafficking enterprise that imported cocaine and marijuana through Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale.
The 58-page indictment alleged that porn companies Klimaxxx Productions, Triple J Enterprises and The Bitas Group, all based in California and operated by one of the defendants, were “financed and operated with funds derived from the illegal importation and distribution” of drugs that came in through Port Everglades. All three companies were also part of the alleged money laundering for the illegal drug profits.