Joseph Cooper, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2016

CHARLESTON, W.V. - A ruthless methamphetamine trafficking operation has been dismantled in West Virginia, with two key players heading to prison for their roles in the scheme.

Joseph Cooper, 41, of Charleston and Las Vegas, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for possession of 50 or more grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Cooper's crime began on January 20, 2016, when law enforcement pulled him over in St. Albans. A search of his vehicle uncovered over 170 grams of methamphetamine, 70 grams of crack, and more than $30,000 in cash.

The methamphetamine was intended for distribution throughout the Southern West Virginia area, officials said. Cooper admitted to the crime and is now facing a lengthy prison sentence.

Cooper's co-conspirator, Benjamin Childers, 41, of South Charleston, was sentenced to 10 years and a month in prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Childers was pulled over in Kansas on November 14, 2015, and found to be hiding 1.7 pounds of crystal methamphetamine underneath his vehicle. Lab testing revealed that the crystal methamphetamine was 90% pure.

Childers admitted to being part of a conspiracy with Joseph Cooper to bring methamphetamine from Nevada for distribution in and around Charleston.

The investigation into the methamphetamine trafficking operation involved the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is in charge of the prosecutions, which are being overseen by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

This case is part of an ongoing effort by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of illegal drugs.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/two-defendants-headed-prison-methamphetamine-trafficking-crimes