Former Miami police officer gets 11 years in shakedown scheme

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Fort Lauderdale federal judge sentenced a former Miami police officer to more than 11 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to shaking down suspects for cash and drugs after authorities said he was caught in an undercover sting in 2023.

Miami’s police chief and South Florida’s top federal prosecutor spoke Tuesday morning following the sentencing of Frenel Cenat.

Posing as a narcotics unit officer and at one point identifying himself as “Officer Martez” of the “Miami PD – Dade County Narcotics Unit,” Cenat conducted traffic stops on undercover agents using his unmarked police car, demanding money and drugs in exchange for avoiding jail time, authorities said.

Cenat, 40 at the time of his arrest, was caught after taking $80,000 and 7 kilograms of fake cocaine from an undercover agent.

He pleaded guilty in March to attempted Hobbs Act extortion and attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

In addition to 135 months in prison, the judge ordered Cenat to have five years of supervised release after he gets out. The judge denied Cenat’s request to have 30 days to surrender.

Miami Police Department Chief Manny Morales and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe spoke following Cenat’s sentencing late Tuesday morning.

Morales said the case served as a “warning” and “an example to every man and woman that proudly wears the badge.”

“If you ever think about losing your way, if you ever have a thought about betraying the public trust and tarnishing the badge that we all wear so proud(ly), this is what will happen,” he said.

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