Charles Norman Pannell, 43, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine in a federal court hearing held on March 20, 2023. According to court documents, Pannell conspired with other individuals to distribute cocaine in the Charleston area between December 2022 and March 2023.
Pannell regularly obtained cocaine from a co-conspirator, sometimes multiple times per day, and would typically obtain one-half to 1 ounce of cocaine at a time. Pannell often had a third-party customer waiting to purchase the cocaine before he obtained it.
On March 20, 2023, law enforcement officers watched Pannell meet with his co-conspirator to obtain cocaine. Shortly after the meeting, officers conducted a traffic stop of Pannell’s vehicle and found approximately 1 ounce of cocaine in his possession.
Pannell is scheduled to be sentenced on October 30, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
Pannell is among 30 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a major drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. Law enforcement has seized over 200 pounds of methamphetamine, 28 pounds of cocaine, 20 pounds of fentanyl, 18 firearms and $747,000 in cash.
A dozen of the defendants have pleaded guilty. Indictments against the other defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug program, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.
The investigation was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, which was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
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Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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