Brandon Ye, Marijuana Trafficking, Oklahoma 2024

Oklahoma City Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Marijuana Trafficking Scheme

A 43-year-old Oklahoma City man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in a major black-market marijuana operation. Brandon Ye, 43, was sentenced to serve 108 months in federal prison on June 20, 2024, after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The investigation into Ye’s operation began in December 2022, when authorities observed a suspicious Amazon delivery van pulling up to a suspected drug stash house. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN), and Oklahoma City Police Department officers were investigating reports of a separate DTO at the time.

According to court documents, Ye would pick up trash bags containing vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana from licensed marijuana grows across Oklahoma and deliver them to a stash house operated by Ye in Oklahoma City. The marijuana was then repackaged and moved to two warehouses owned by Ye, where it was picked up by a semi-truck and transported to the east coast. It’s estimated that between June 2022 and March 2023, Ye helped ship approximately 28 tons of marijuana out of the state of Oklahoma.

Ye’s operation was part of a larger investigation into a black-market marijuana trafficking organization. The investigation was led by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office, the OBN, and the OCPD, and was also a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is a program that identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wilson D. McGarry is prosecuting the case. Reference is made to public filings for additional information.

The sentencing of Brandon Ye is a significant blow to the black-market marijuana trafficking operation in Oklahoma City. The case highlights the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies in disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations.

Related Federal Cases