Federal Drug Trafficking

Federal courts are eager to prosecute suspected drug traffickers, especially when they believe that a large amount of drugs or controlled substances are being transported from one country or state into another.

Federal or interstate drug trafficking is an incredibly serious matter and includes extremely harsh mandatory minimum sentencing laws and millions of dollars in fines. Sentences depend on the type and amount of drugs or controlled substances being trafficked and where they are being trafficked to. For example, transporting or distributing illegal drugs near schools will incur high penalties, because children are being exposed to drug trafficking. Also, if the defendant has a criminal history, this also will bring about harsh punishments.

Drug trafficking is a politically salient issue and federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are under intense pressure to capture and imprison drug traffickers and their associates. In recent years, drug trafficking of prescription drugs such as codeine, oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) have also been increasingly targeted by the federal government.

When the federal government believes that a person or a group of persons are trafficking drugs, it will often file one or more of the following charges:

• Distribution
• Conspiracy to Distribute
• Possession of Drugs
• Transportation
• Selling
• Financing
• Manufacturing
• Cultivation

Although federal prosecutors will often file charges against a group of individuals to clamp down on the whole organization, their main target is often the ringleader or head of the criminal organization. Prosecutors often try to persuade other defendants to cooperate with them by offering plea bargains with lenient sentences, pursuant to Rule 35. Federal prosecutors do not always follow through with their promises, however. A defendant should never negotiate without this/her lawyer present.

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Examples of Defenses Against Drug Trafficking

Many people who are accused of being involved with a drug trafficking operation are merely acting as agents or drug mules (drug carriers), which are not the target of mandatory minimum sentences and drug legislation. With our firm’s extensive negotiating experience at the federal and not only state level, we can argue your case to the prosecutor using the mule defense to secure you a more lenient sentence.

Walk Free Law can prove in court that you have no ties to any large-scale drug trafficking organizations. Further, if there was no violence, no weapons, no serious injury or minor involved, we can build a strong case for a good outcome.