On Oct. 19, New York law enforcement officers reported that 10 gang members from the Bronx were taken into custody for drug crimes. They were reportedly accused of shipping thousands of pounds of marijuana to New York from California. Authorities said the marijuana had an estimated value of $22 million.
According to authorities, more than 6,600 pounds of marijuana were sent to businesses and homes in New Rochelle, Manhattan and the Bronx. The marijuana was then brought to stash houses so that it could be distributed to dealers and other customers.
On Oct. 18 and 19, officers executed a dozen search warrants and made numerous arrests. During the searches of the stash houses, authorities found hundreds of pounds of marijuana, cocaine, three handguns, ammunition, a sawed-off shotgun and thousands of dollars in cash. The court appearances were scheduled to begin occurring on Oct. 19 and were to continue into the next week. If the gang members are all convicted on the charges, they all could face life in prison.
Federal drug trafficking cases in New York can result in severe legal punishments depending on the type and amount of drugs that are allegedly recovered. Those accused of federal drug crimes could face life in prison, major fines and even have personal property seized if it was believed to have been used in the crime or if it was purchased from funds that were obtained as part of the alleged crime. A criminal law attorney may review the case and the allegations to determine if there are viable defense strategies against the accusations. In some cases, the attorney may argue that an accused person was not involved in committing the crimes or he or she was threatened into committing the crime.
Source: NBC New York, “10 Gang Members Shipped 6,600 Pounds of Pot Worth $22M to NYC: Feds“, Joe Valiquette, 10/19/2017
