Orlando Nembhard, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Arkansas 2026

LITTLE ROCK—A New York man will spend the next 135 months in federal prison for his role in a multi-state, cross-country conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine.

Orlando Nembhard, 34, of Mt. Vernon, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine on January 6, 2026. Chief Judge Kristine G. Baker also sentenced Nembhard to serve five years’ supervised release.

On December 3, 2024, a federal grand jury returned a five-count Indictment charging Nembhard with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.

The investigation, led by the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), revealed that the suitcase containing the methamphetamine had been checked at the Phoenix airport under Nembhard's name. The suitcase and an airline ticket for Nembhard and Joe Brandon were connected to a credit card for Nembhard.

On May 13, 2024, Dallas, Texas, Police Department officers discovered 10 vacuum-sealed bundles, approximately 7.6 kilograms in total, that contained white crystalline substances, which were later determined to be methamphetamine. The substance was tested and found to be methamphetamine.

Nembhard was originally scheduled to fly to Little Rock with Brandon, but he left the airport without boarding the flight. However, agents conducting surveillance observed Nembhard driving Brandon to the Phoenix airport on July 24, 2024, where Brandon checked a suitcase and flew back to Little Rock.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edar/pr/homeland-security-task-force-investigation-uncovers-methamphetamine-conspiracy-results