5 charged in ‘Operation Mousetrap' cocaine trafficking bust in Midtown Miami, feds say

Five suspects are facing charges in connection with a massive cocaine trafficking organization that had been operating out of a luxury Midtown Miami high-rise, authorities said.

“Operation Mousetrap” targeted an international network that was moving drugs from Colombia through the Dominican Republic and into South Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Monday.

The group was responsible for kilogram-level cocaine trafficking and used the high-rise in Midtown Miami to store the cocaine and prepare it for distribution.

A separate effort, “Operation Horseman’s Voyage,” had focused on maritime trafficking networks responsible for trafficking large amounts of cocaine into South Florida, while “Operation Mousetrap” targeted local retail and wholesale distributors.

Investigators had discovered a network that was importing up to 1,700 kilograms of cocaine aboard high-end fishing vessels traveling from the Dominican Republic to Miami.

A Miami-based distribution operation, allegedly led by Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, handled the storage and distribution of the cocaine and involved around 20 others including boat captains, enforcers and street-level distributors, authorities said.

In October 2025, law enforcement arrested two suspects and seized over $250,000 in drug proceeds concealed in a vehicle. In a separate incident, law enforcement seized more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine from a vessel.

Then, a search warrant was executed at an apartment at a luxury high-rise in Midtown Miami, where authorities found about 536 kilograms of cocaine, 14 firearms including an unserialized AK-47, and around $3.1 million in cash, officials said.

A federal grand jury later charged five suspects 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., also known as “Pri,” 33, of Miami Gardens; and Humberto “Kiki” Moreno, 42, of Miami, are charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Hernandez and Diaz are also charged with distribution offenses. Walker and Gonzalez face additional charges for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possession of firearms and ammunition as convicted felons.

Investigators identified Hernandez as a key distributor, with Moreno, Caraballo, and Gonzalez among his suppliers and associates, officials said.

When Walker was arrested, agents recovered additional cocaine packaged for street-level distribution, along with bulk cash concealed in hidden compartments in his vehicle, officials said.

Additional members of the organization, including Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, Keisy Estibet Peguero, Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera, and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez, were arrested, and a federal grand jury has already charged several co-conspirators, including Mercedes-Hernandez, and additional charges have been filed against others, including cocaine suppliers based in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, authorities said.