Federal authorities allege that they have taken several men into custody on international drug trafficking charges. Authorities claim that the men orchestrated the illegal importation of a massive quantity of marijuana. Unbeknownst to these men, however, the captain of the boat that was transporting the drugs was a federal agent from the Drug Enforcement Agency. The men will now face a federal drug trafficking charge in court.
The federal agent who captained the transport boat that contained the marijuana initially believed he would be delivering more pot than he eventually picked up. The weight of the shipment ended up being approximately 540 pounds of marijuana. This is a considerable amount of the drug considering that it may sell for as much as $2,500 per pound at street value.
The men who have been accused of the smuggling drug crime, included a 29-year-old man from Miami Gardens and a 28-year-old man from Tamarac. Federal authorities say that the men opened one of the packages and took a whiff of the contents before ultimately loading up their vehicle with the marijuana packages. Allegedly, the men agreed to help authorities locate another suspected drug trafficker who was the intended recipient of the pot — a 60-year-old man who lives in Lauderdale. Police traded out the real marijuana with fake pot, made the delivery and arrested this man along with his two sons.
Authorities claim that they received various confessions and admissions from the men regarding their drug trafficking actions. Nevertheless, these supposed confessions, may not actually be admissible as court evidence during the litigation of their federal drug crimes cases — especially if those admissions were obtained under duress or in a fashion that was not in accordance with the law. Ultimately, the accused men in this federal case will have the right to obtain criminal defense counsel to defend themselves against the federal drug trafficking charge being brought against them.
Source: Sun Sentinel, “Feds say 1,000-pound marijuana deal went sour for South Florida men” Paula McMahon, Apr. 23, 2014
