⏱ 2 min read
Derek Rockette, a 53-year-old St. Louis felon, has been involved in a large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering operation from at least 2016 to 2021. Rockette, along with others, sold cocaine and laundered the proceeds, but lost over $1.5 million of it while gambling. He attempted to repay the money to two money laundering organizations working on behalf of his drug source.
Rockette made several large payments to these organizations, including $200,000 in May 2018 and $158,720 in July 2018, which was intercepted by the DEA and Illinois State Police. He also paid $59,114 in August 2018, which was quickly deposited in a bank and transferred to Mexico. Additionally, Rockette gave $100,000 to a DEA confidential source to transfer to Chicago, which was tracked to a Chinese money laundering group and resulted in the seizure of $222,300.
Rockette’s crimes eventually caught up with him when he was caught with a firearm after fleeing from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers and the DEA on March 25, 2019. He was also found with $2,000 cash, 236 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of fentanyl, and 12 grams of a substance containing heroin and fentanyl on March 23, 2021.
Rockette’s sentence of 15 years in prison is a significant outcome for the investigation, which was conducted by the DEA, Illinois State Police, and other agencies. His crimes demonstrate the complexity and scope of drug trafficking and money laundering operations in the United States.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Drug Trafficking
- Defendant: Missouri
- Location: MO
- Source: DOJ Press Release
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Drug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug Trafficking