Evergreen Reporter

Edel Freyre-Soto, a 54-year-old resident of Laplace, Louisiana, has pled guilty to charges related to cocaine distribution. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson following the court proceedings on February 18, 2025. Freyre-Soto admitted to conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, classified as a Schedule II controlled substance. These actions violate Title 21, United States Code Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846.

United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion presided over the case. Freyre-Soto faces significant legal consequences for each count: a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years up to life imprisonment, a fine that could reach $10 million, at least five years of supervised release after any prison term, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

Court documents detail that on September 10, 2023, law enforcement officers from the St. John the Baptist Sheriff's Office confiscated 69 kilograms of cocaine from Freyre-Soto's home in Laplace. Further investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) uncovered his involvement in large-scale cocaine trafficking operations conducted via boat off the Gulf of Mexico coast.

On March 19, 2024, DEA agents seized an additional 85 kilograms of cocaine from a co-conspirator's residence in Laplace. This batch had been smuggled through the Grand Isle marina.

The case is being investigated by both the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Sarver from the Narcotics Unit is leading the prosecution.