Man arrested with $756K in SUV in ‘Operation Empty Nest’ money laundering bust: Cops

A Hialeah man who was arrested during an undercover operation targeting drug money launderers in South Florida is facing charges after he was found with more than $750,000 in cash during a traffic stop, authorities said.

Luis Radhames Cabral, 36, was arrested Monday on charges including money laundering, acting as an unauthorized money transmitter, and conspiracy to act as an unauthorized money transmitter, Miami-Dade jail records showed.

The arrest was part of “Operation Empty Nest,” a joint state-federal investigation targeting drug money launderers in South Florida, an arrest report said.

According to the report, during the undercover operation Cabral was identified as an agent of a money laundering operation responsible for transporting and delivering bulk drug proceeds in the form of U.S. currency.

The money was then converted to cryptocurrency that was transferred to wallets maintained by drug trafficking organizations, the report said.

On Aug. 6, 2025, authorities saw Cabral meet with a man who gave him containers that were later taken to an apartment building, the report said.

Cabral and a co-conspirator later left the apartment and placed the containers in a black Suburban that was stopped by authorities in Doral.

Inside the SUV were Cabral, who was driving, and a co-conspirator, along with duffel bags containing a large amount of cash wrapped in rubber bands and in vacuum sealed plastic bags, the report said.

The cash found totaled $756,595, the report said, while a gun was also found in a Louis Vuitton shoulder bag.

Cabral was interviewed at the time and on Monday, was re-interviewed before he was arrested and booked into jail.

At his bond court appearance on Tuesday, a prosecutor said Cabral is accused of participating in laundering over $1 million on at least four separate occasions.

The prosecutor said Cabral admitted to his involvement in scheme and poses a flight risk, asking for a $600,000 bond.

It was noted during the appearance that Cabral is from the Dominican Republic and has lived in the Miami area for about a year and a half.

Judge Mindy Glazer set his bond at $500,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport.