A Panamanian businessman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy involving 22 kilograms of cocaine.
RICHMOND, Va. – Humberto Beckford, 36, of Panama City, Panama, pleaded guilty on December 22, 2016, to his involvement in the conspiracy.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in March 2016, a Panamanian drug trafficking organization (DTO) secreted a cocaine load onboard a commercial shipping vessel traveling from Panama to Charleston, South Carolina.
On March 11, 2016, Beckford was directed by a member of the DTO to travel from Miami to Charleston to supervise the distribution of the cocaine load upon its arrival at the Port of Charleston.
Unbeknownst to Beckford, law enforcement had intercepted the cocaine load onboard the ship. The next day, Beckford met with undercover federal law enforcement agents to coordinate the distribution of a bag containing 22 kilograms of cocaine to a drug courier working for the DTO.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Daniel Salter, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Atlanta Division; Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik Siebert and Peter S. Duffey prosecuted the case.
The sentencing was handed down on March 11, 2016. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-117.
Related Federal Cases
- Michael Pankey, Cocaine and Heroin Trafficking, Virginia 2024 · North Carolina
- Fabian Humberto Tovar Caicedo, International Drug Trafficking Conspiracy, Virginia 2023 · North Carolina
- Terrell Williams, Cocaine Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2012 · Washington
- Eleven Charged in Heroin, Cocaine, and Fentanyl Trafficking, South Carolina 2019 · North Carolina
- Romaro Lanarie Foster Sr., Cocaine Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2022 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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