(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) One of the top officials in the Obama-era DEA was taken into federal custody on charges of agreeing to launder millions for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most violent drug cartels in Mexico.
A federal grand jury on Friday indicted Paul Campo, the former chief financial officer at the DEA during the Obama administration, after he allegedly attempted to facilitate cartel-linked narcotics operations.
The cartel, known by its Spanish initials CJNG, is viewed as the most powerful transnational criminal organization in Mexico. Trump even designated it as a foreign terrorist organization.
The DOJ did not specify whether Campo ever met with a real cartel member. However, it noted that the former DEA official met with a confidential source posing as a CJNG operative while working for the federal government.
The investigation was triggered while the feds probed the cartel itself.
As alleged in the indictment, Campo used his federal expertise to conspire with the source to launder what Campo believed were $12 million in illicit funds and help move cocaine into New York City.
He allegedly began meeting with co-defendant Robert Sensi in 2024 after Sensi spoke with the confidential source.
After several meetings, Campo and Sensi started converting about $750,000 of what they believed was illicit funds into cryptocurrency and real estate, according to the DOJ.
Campo also advised the source about fentanyl production and explored acquiring commercial drones and military-grade equipment for the operation, the indictment added.
In return, Campo expected to receive a cut of roughly $5 million in drug revenue.
Campo now faces one count of conspiring to commit narcoterrorism, one count of conspiring to distribute cocaine, one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering.
If convicted, he faces up to 60 years in prison. Campo, who spent 25 years at the DEA, is 61 years old.
