Iowa Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Trafficking
A man from Iowa has been convicted of transporting massive quantities of ice methamphetamine into the state. Marty Brian Robbins, 55, of Marion, Iowa, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Robbins’ co-defendant, Valerie Lee Kupka, 42, of Clutier, Iowa, had previously been convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on August 10, 2018. According to prosecutors, Robbins obtained large shipments of ice methamphetamine from sources in the Southwest United States starting in April 2017. He then transported the methamphetamine to Iowa in a trailer, where Kupka assisted him in selling it.
On April 20, 2018, police investigators conducted surveillance on Robbins at a storage facility in Cedar Rapids and witnessed him unloading boxes of suspected methamphetamine from his trailer. A search of his truck, trailer, and other vehicles yielded approximately nine pounds of ice methamphetamine, as well as $57,122 in cash proceeds of methamphetamine sales.
Robbins and Kupka were arrested on federal warrants on May 26, 2018, while attempting to enter Nogales, Arizona, from Mexico at the Nogales-Grand Avenue Port of Entry.
Robbins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment. Sentencing is set to be determined after a presentence report is prepared.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman and was investigated by the Johnson County Task Force, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Cerro Gordo Sheriff’s Office, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, and Marion Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 18-CR-62-LRR.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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