RICHMOND, Va. – In a devastating blow to international narcotics trafficking, a Charlotte woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy.
Tammie D. Diggs, 48, pleaded guilty on January 13 for her involvement in the conspiracy. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, on March 12, 2016, Diggs traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina to Charleston, South Carolina, to receive 22 kilograms of cocaine from a Panamanian drug trafficking organization (DTO) for domestic distribution.
On the same day, law enforcement intercepted 22 kilograms of cocaine on a commercial shipping vessel at the Port of Charleston sent by the Panamanian DTO. The next day, Diggs obtained a bag containing 22 kilograms of cocaine in Charleston from a co-conspirator while under surveillance of law enforcement, and upon taking possession of the cocaine, Diggs traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Later that day, law enforcement executed a traffic stop on the vehicle driven by Diggs and seized the bag containing the 22 kilograms of cocaine.
Diggs’s co-conspirator, Lamar Gayle, 34, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, on February 12, 2016, Gayle traveled from Brooklyn to Charleston to receive 15 kilograms of cocaine from a Panamanian drug trafficking organization (DTO) for domestic distribution.
On the same day, law enforcement intercepted 15 kilograms of cocaine on a commercial shipping vessel at the Port of Charleston sent by the Panamanian DTO. The next day, Gayle obtained a bag containing 15 kilograms of cocaine in Charleston from a co-conspirator while under surveillance of law enforcement, and upon taking possession of the cocaine, Gayle boarded a commercial bus and traveled to the Eastern District of Virginia.
The following day, law enforcement executed a drug interdiction operation in Sussex County on the commercial bus on which Gayle was traveling. During the stop of the bus, law enforcement surveillance observed Gayle hide the bag containing the cocaine under a seat inside the bus, and shortly thereafter seized the bag containing the 15 kilograms of cocaine.
U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Daniel Salter, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Nick Annan, Virginia State Police Superintendent Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, and Henrico County Police Chief Humberto I. Cardounel, Jr. announced the sentencing after U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson handed down the sentences.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik Siebert and Peter S. Duffey prosecuted the case.
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 can be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-108 (Gayle), and 3:16-cr-117 (Diggs).
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- Dyron Eugene Holloway, Cocaine Trafficking, Virginia 2025 · Virginia
- Arica M. Boyles, Cocaine Trafficking, West Virginia 2014 · Virginia
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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