FEDERAL DRUG CRIME LAWYER IN SAN DIEGO AND WESTERN STATES
IMPORTATION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE 21 USC § 952, 960
Common defense – defendant did not know the drugs were there because someone else put them there.
Example – person has meth hidden in the lining of their purse when they walk across the border, person has fentanyl hidden behind the panels of their car when they drive across. US citizens, visa holders, and green card holders are often targeted by traffickers for both knowing paid and unknowing smuggling (called being a blind mule) of drugs into the United States.
RECENT SUCCESS (2024) – Nate’s client had over 110 pounds of fentanyl pills in the tire of a pickup truck when he crossed the border. After showing the client did not know the fentanyl was there because they were planted in Mexico by a drug user with ties to traffickers, the case was dismissed.
RECENT SUCCESS (2023) – Nate’s client had about 50 pounds of cocaine hidden in the lining of his car. Nate secured the client’s release after about a week of jail, and the client was sentenced to straight probation (no more jail, no house arrest, just probation).
CONPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES 21 USC § 841, 846
Example - DEA agents obtain wiretap warrant and listen to phone calls of network of drug suppliers negotiating prices, quantities, and locations to make deals. DEA executes search warrants of homes, cars, and packages. All participants are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. An experienced federal criminal defense lawyer will know how to challenge wiretap warrants, search warrants, and manage the case with the federal prosecutors to see the best possible outcome.
CONSPIRACY TO POSSESS WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ON BOARD A VESSEL 46 USC 70503, 70506
RECENT SUCCESS (2023) – Nate’s client, a foreign national extradited to the United States from Central America, sentenced to time served plus 4 months after coordinating multiple 800 kg cocaine maritime shipments from South and Central America in conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.