Federal Authorities Announce the Indictment of Thirty-One Individuals on Narcotics and Money Laundering Charges

    NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thirty-one
 individuals were indicted today on narcotics and money laundering charges
 by a federal grand jury in Nashville, announced Paul M. O'Brien, United
 States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee; Harry S. Sommers,
 Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
 Nashville District Office; My Harrison; Special Agent in Charge of the FBI
 Memphis Field Division; Cleve Daniels, Special Agent in Charge of the
 Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Mark Gwyn, Director of the
 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; Ronal Serpas, Chief of the Metropolitan
 Nashville Police Department; and Jackie Moore, Chief of the Franklin Police
 Department. Over 300 officers and agents from approximately 60 law
 enforcement agencies, armed with over 20 federal search warrants, began
 arresting the defendants today.
     According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to acquire large
 quantities of cocaine and marijuana from sources of supply in Mexico for
 distribution in the form of cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana in
 Tennessee. The objective of the conspiracy was also to generate significant
 monetary profits in the form of illegal narcotics proceeds from that
 distribution. The defendants performed different roles and tasks during the
 course of the conspiracy that included acquiring several hundred kilogram
 quantities of cocaine and several hundred pound quantities of marijuana in
 Mexico for importation into the United States, as well as organizing the
 transportation of cocaine and marijuana across the Mexico border into the
 United States, including to California, Arizona and Tennessee.
     Others in the conspiracy prepared, packaged and stored the cocaine and
 marijuana in stash houses in Tennessee prior to distribution and processed
 a portion of the cocaine into cocaine base and distributed the cocaine,
 cocaine base and marijuana to other narcotics traffickers within Tennessee.
 Others redistributed the cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana to customers
 in the Nashville and Franklin areas and counted, sorted and packaged
 currency derived from the sale of cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana. Some
 members of the conspiracy organized the transportation of currency derived
 from the sale of these illegal narcotics to their sources of supply and
 conducted financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, source and
 ownership of currency derived from the sale of the illegal narcotics.
     "The investigation and indictments send a clear message that the United
 States Attorney's Office, the DEA, and its federal, state and local law
 enforcement partners will target narcotics traffickers that endanger our
 communities, their supply networks, the organizations responsible for
 transporting large quantities of narcotics into the Middle District of
 Tennessee and the money launderers who assist them in concealing their
 proceeds," said U.S. Attorney Paul O'Brien.
     Rodney G. Benson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field
 Division stated, "DEA continues to target the most prolific drug
 traffickers who are in the business of wreaking havoc in our communities.
 The extensive local, state and federal cooperation led to the dismantling
 of this criminal organization."
     Those charged in count one of the indictment with conspiracy to possess
 with the intent to distribute and distribution of over five kilograms of
 cocaine, over 50 grams of cocaine base, and over 100 kilograms of marijuana
 include Gary Jackson, Anthony Corley, Edwin Locklayer, Deshay Jones, Eugene
 Lamont Foster, Terry Biles, Miklos Tadeo Garcia-Carbo, Derrick Lamont
 Johnson, Clifford Dean Harrison, Darius Travell Gentry, Marquis Grayson,
 Darryl Covington, Detaniel Troymaine Lee, Brad Poynter, Wendell Hickerson,
 David Lee McLemore, Rickolas Haynes, Jamie Taylor, Reginald Puckett,
 Solathus Johnson, Brad Jordan, Dante Hatchett, Ronald Poynter, Jodi Beard,
 Jimmie Johnson, Seymore Sebastian Staten, Felix Mandrell Leach, James
 Nelson, Jamal Pope and Robert Rollings.
     Those charged in count two of the indictment with conspiracy to conduct
 financial transactions involving narcotics proceeds to conceal and disguise
 the nature, source, ownership and control of the proceeds include Edwin
 Locklayer, Deshay Jones and Darryl Moore.
     The investigation was conducted by the DEA, FBI, IRS, the Tennessee
 Bureau of Investigation, the Franklin Police Department and the 21st
 Judicial District Drug Task Force, and was initiated in the Spring of 2007.
 The Sumner County Sheriff's Department, ATF, Tennessee Army National Guard,
 United States Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol, the 18th Judicial
 District Drug Task Force, the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, the
 Wilson County Sheriff's Office, the 20th Judicial District Drug Task Force,
 and DEA offices in California, Arizona and Georgia assisted in the
 investigation.
     Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Kent for the Middle District
 of Tennessee will prosecute the case on behalf of the United States. An
 indictment merely represents an accusation, and the defendants are presumed
 innocent until and unless they are proven guilty.
 
 

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice