A Norfolk man received a five-year prison sentence today for conspiring to distribute and possess cocaine with intent to distribute.
“Antonio Saunders has learned that kilogram-level cocaine shipments will not enter the Commonwealth of Virginia without swift and certain consequences,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Our vigilance is unwavering, and we will hold drug traffickers accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to court documents, in September 2021, law enforcement identified two parcels suspected of carrying narcotics while in transit from Texas to Virginia. Investigators intercepted one parcel and found 2.44 pounds of cocaine. They allowed the second package to continue to its Norfolk destination.
On Sept. 9, 2021, after the parcel was delivered and left on a front porch, Antonio Deshaka Saunders, 43, picked it up, placed it in a vehicle, and attempted to drive away. Investigators conducted a traffic stop and recovered the package, which contained one kilogram of cocaine.
U.S. Attorney Halligan; Christopher Heck, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, announced the sentence after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen issued the ruling.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock prosecuted the case.
Leave a Reply