Date: Jan. 26, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov SAN DIEGO — Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, aka Gato, an Ecuadorian national and alleged drug trafficker, made his first appearance in federal court today following his extradition to the United States from Colombia yesterday. At the hearing, Sanchez Farfan entered a not guilty plea. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major ordered him detained pending trial. The next hearing is scheduled for March 4, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel. On Oct. 30, 2019, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California returned an indictment charging Sanchez Farfan with participating in a transnational conspiracy to traffic substantial quantities of cocaine from Colombia, through Ecuador, and into the United States. Sanchez Farfan’s organization is alleged to have been a major source of supply for the Sinaloa Cartel and the New Generation Jalisco Cartel in Mexico. Sanchez Farfan was apprehended by Colombian authorities at the request of the United States in February 2023 while traveling in Colombia. “We thank Colombian and Ecuadorian law enforcement authorities for their significant assistance,” said U.S. Attorney Tara K. McGrath. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché’s office at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota provided critical assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Sanchez Farfan. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Martin and Ashley Goff. The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI), Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
