The DA’s office says seniors are falling for online and phone scams more and more often and that the numbers have become so high they’ve rolled out a new campaign aimed at preventing people.

In the quiet morning hours of San Diego, a shocking event unfolded that would send ripples through the entire city.

Without any warning, FBI and ICE agents stormed the home of Miguel Cardinus, a city council member once seen as a champion of crime prevention and community protection.

But no one could have guessed that his $15 million mansion was the heart of one of the largest cocaine trafficking rings in the city.

Everything was about to change.

What seemed like a simple raid soon revealed a chilling truth.

Massive amounts of cocaine, $180 million in gold, and millions in cash were seized, exposing a vast criminal network and deep corruption within the local government.

How far did this go? And what other dark secrets remain hidden? Stay tuned to Military Power as we uncover the shocking details of this case.

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Miguel Cardinus, once a respected city council member in San Diego, had built a reputation as a strong advocate for community safety and anti-rime initiatives.

His speeches were inspiring and his political career rose steadily, positioning him as a future leader.

But behind his cleancut public persona was a hidden world.

one that operated in the shadows, far from the eyes of the public who trusted him.

Cardinus, the man they thought was working for their good, had been quietly running one of the most significant cocaine trafficking operations in the city.

His connection to this underworld network wasn’t just local.

It reached across borders involving cartel members and other criminal organizations operating internationally.

The discovery of Cardinus’ involvement in such a massive operation came as a shock to everyone.

A politician who had been seen as a protector of the community was in reality an orchestrator of an extensive criminal empire.

The realization that someone in such a powerful position had been hiding illegal activities right under their noses sent waves of disbelief through the city.

The raids that would follow his unmasking were a confrontation with this hidden world.

A confrontation that would reveal just how far his influence reached.

As federal agents began their investigation, the question on everyone’s mind was how someone in such a highprofile position could manage to keep his criminal empire so well concealed.

Cardinus, with his many layers of deception seemed untouchable.

Yet, the investigation would peel back these layers, revealing a story more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

The investigation known as the Gilded Serpent Operation spanned 22 months, beginning with a Coast Guard interception of an intercepted shipment in 2022.

On a moonless night, a Coast Guard patrol vessel in the waters off Baja California detected a large freighter moving without lights.

An unusual maneuver in international waters.

The freighter crew, realizing they were being pursued, made a desperate attempt to destroy evidence by throwing crates into the ocean.

As the Coast Guard moved in, they seized the vessel and arrested the six crew members aboard.

Among them was Carlos Mendoza, whose cooperation would change everything.

Mendoza, facing a minimum of 20 years in prison, chose to turn state’s witness, providing investigators with critical insight into the operation structure.

He described how the cocaine was transported from Colombia through Mexico, eventually reaching Southern California, where it was distributed throughout the region.

The most shocking part of his testimony was the revelation of Cardinus’ involvement.

Mendoza had detailed meetings with the politician and described how individuals within local government protected the operation.

Initially, investigators were skeptical, unable to believe that someone as powerful as Cardinus would be tied to such a massive drug ring.

But the evidence soon started to align with Mendoza’s claims.

As the investigation progressed, it became clear that the truth was even darker than initially thought.

Mendoza’s cooperation was just the beginning.

Through financial records, investigators began uncovering millions of dollars flowing through businesses owned or controlled by Cardinus.

What seemed like legitimate operations at first glance, luxury car dealerships, real estate holdings, and even a cryptocurrency investment firm were in fact being used as channels for money laundering.

Cardinus’ financial dealings, meticulously hidden behind shell companies and complex transactions, were designed to keep his criminal activities out of sight.

The investigation began connecting the dots, revealing how drug money was funneled through these seemingly innocent businesses.

Millions of dollars flowed through high-end car dealerships in the city where luxury vehicles were sold at inflated prices to members of the drug operation.

Cardinus, who had been living a life of extravagance, had positioned himself as a hidden shareholder in these businesses, creating a facade of legitimacy.

But as investigators dug deeper, they found discrepancies in his public financial records, which listed his official city salary at a modest $75,000 a year.

His lifestyle, however, was far from modest, revealing a glaring contradiction between his legal earnings and his actual wealth.

It became clear that Cardinus was living a life funded by crime, using his political connections to shield his illicit activities.

His lavish lifestyle, paid for by drug money, included a $15 million mansion perched on the cliffs of La Hoya, luxury cars, and vacations to the world’s most expensive destinations.

Meanwhile, his public image as a devoted public servant continued to shield him from suspicion.

He had been successful in maintaining this double life, but the walls were closing in.

The turning point came when federal agents, armed with irrefutable evidence, prepared for the most critical phase of the investigation, the raid on Cardinus’ mansion.

The operation had been meticulously planned for months, knowing that Cardinus’ wealth and influence would make this no ordinary arrest, the raid unfolded like a scene from a highstakes action movie.

In the early hours of the morning, federal agents from the FBI and DEA, backed by local law enforcement, converged on the mansion from multiple directions.

The sound of helicopters overhead pierced the quiet night, their search lights sweeping over the estate, illuminating the treacherous cliffs and expansive grounds.

Inside the mansion, Cardinus, unaware of the full scope of the investigation closing in on him, had no idea that his life was about to be turned upside down.

As agents breached the gates with explosive charges, the operation escalated quickly.

Cardinus was found sitting motionless in his main bedroom, offering no resistance as agents moved in to arrest him.

But this wasn’t just a simple arrest.

It was the climax of years of investigation and a calculated strike against a powerful man who had thought himself untouchable.

The agents began a detailed search of the mansion, uncovering more than they could have imagined.

Behind hidden walls and false compartments, they found nearly 5.

5 tons of cocaine meticulously packaged and hidden away.

In a secret room, they discovered a stash of gold bars worth $180 million along with millions in cash and a trove of luxury items.

The raid also exposed the depth of the corruption with the discovery of ledgers detailing drug transactions over the years, confirming that the entire operation had been protected by people in positions of power, including those within the local government.

As the raid progressed, the scale of the operation became more apparent.

34 individuals were arrested that day, including Cardinus, his associates, and key figures involved in the network.

The agents seized luxury cars, real estate, and hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, all traced back to the drug empire Cardinus had built.

But the most shocking part of the raid wasn’t the drugs or the gold.

It was the realization that a city official, a trusted leader, had been living a double life, operating with impunity in the very city he had sworn to protect.

The investigation, far from over, had now uncovered a network of corruption and crime that reached into the highest echelons of the city’s political structure.

But as the dust began to settle, one question loomed large.

How deep did this corruption go? And how many others were involved in this vast criminal enterprise? As the investigation continues to expand, more arrests are likely to follow.

With connections reaching beyond local boundaries, what happens next could reveal even more explosive truths about the criminal networks operating under the radar.