drug trafficking

November 10, 2021

Three Defendants Arrested After Cocaine is Seized on Plane

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

The federal government has seized a private plane and 100 kilograms of cocaine from a suspected Mexico-to-Chicago pipeline. 80 kilos were seized from a vehicle in Chicago and another 20 were found in a hotel room. The plane was seized as part of the investigation. Authorities believe that the plane made its way to the Gary International Airport by way of Houston. The drugs were eventually found here in Chicago. Three men are now facing charges related to drug trafficking.

Private Jets and Drug Trafficking

Despite the cost of private jets, they are becoming much more popular among cartels and other traffickers. Private jets can look like personal business jets, so they provide good cover in plain sight. In many cases, these planes are coming from Brazil, which has been red-flagged as a major narco hotspot after mechanics found cocaine on a plane that had radioed for help.

June 2, 2021

Joint Federal and Local Police Charge 17 With Drug Trafficking

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A joint federal and local probe produced 17 defendants in connection with a drug trafficking ring responsible for putting heroin and cocaine on the streets of Chicago. The defendants will face federal charges and be charged in federal court. According to the press release, the operation remained ongoing for years prior to making these arrests. Federal agents announced the seizure of multiple kilos of cocaine and heroin in several Chicago neighborhoods. The effort had contributions from Chicago P.D. and the Department of Homeland Security. The measure produced 17 defendants who are facing federal charges and two more who are facing state charges.

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces

The OCDEF is a multi-agency effort to attack cartels and gangs that distribute narcotics on the streets. Its efforts targeted international drug trafficking and were led by prosecutors to help build cases against those involved in the drug trade. According to the Justice Department, it is the largest transnational anti-crime task force in the country. The agency has 500 federal prosecutors, 1,200 federal agents, and 5,000 local and state police.

November 4, 2020

Federal Government Targets Major Drug Dealer: Purdue Pharma

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Purdue Pharmaceuticals will plead guilty to three federal charges as part of an $8 billion settlement related to the production of OxyContin. Purdue and other pharmaceutical companies have been accused of lying to doctors about the addictiveness of their medication and funding pill farms by allowing small rural communities to purchase major quantities of the opioid that far surpassed their population. Other charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States and arranging kickbacks for doctors and clinics.

The judgment is expected to put Purdue Pharma into bankruptcy where their assets will be handled by a bankruptcy judge and a trustee. While the deal punishes the company itself, individual executives have not been absolved of wrongdoing. They can still face charges related to their individual roles in causing what has been dubbed “the opioid epidemic.”

Half a Million Deaths Since 2000

October 7, 2016

How Illinois is Using its Laws to Reign in Drug Traffickers

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Recently, President Barack Obama pardoned a number of people who had been given mandatory sentences for drug trafficking that many in the legal profession considered to be excessive. More worrisome was the notion that the judge in a court case lost the right of discretion at sentencing because the mandatory sentencing law had already effectively predetermined the outcome of that phase of a criminal trial. The law had the tragic effect of sending people to prison for virtual lifetimes for the possession of a few grams of cocaine, when convicted rapists and murderers were being given much shorter sentences. What became clear was a need for sentencing reform with reference to mandatory penalties. Illinois is considered to be one of the more liberal or progressive on this issue, but there are still contentious points.

Status of the Law in Illinois

According to the Controlled Substances Act, it is a criminal offense to manufacture, possess or deliver a controlled or counterfeit substance. The law applies to analogs of controlled substances. In order to deal with the generic drugs that are extracted from an original formula, the act also affects those substances that are intended for human consumption but are listed within Schedule I and II of the said act. The law was designed to have a sliding scale of punishments that was heaviest for those actors that engaged in illicit trafficking as well as those who headed the profit chains for those activities. The rationale was that those who benefitted from the drug trade were somehow insulated from its consequences and the relatively lenient punishments meted out to them emphasized the impression that they were not as culpable as those who actually used or distributed the drugs.