Board-Certified Criminal Defense Representation In Central Florida

The massive reach of drug trafficking investigations

by | Jul 12, 2016 | Drug Trafficking |

We have often discussed the fact that hundreds of thousands of individuals are incarcerated every year due to drug-related convictions. In many cases, the individuals in jail are believed to be part of larger operations and networks manufacturing and distributing drugs. In an effort to get to those at the center of these alleged rings, police and prosecutors will often go to great lengths to capture, question and convict anyone believed to be associated with drug trafficking and sales.

For years, in fact, the federal government has been trying to build a case against Fed Ex, the international delivery company. Recently, however, their efforts proved to be unsuccessful and the criminal charges against Fed Ex were dropped.

According to reports, the Department of Justice evidently believed that Fed Ex was knowingly facilitating the transport of prescription drugs between online illegal dispensaries and customers. The agency launched an investigation back in 2014 and since then has been trying to build a case against Fed Ex by scrutinizing credit policies and questioning couriers about delivery procedures.

However, the agency could not back up their trafficking claims and the charges were dropped.

A statement from Fed Ex addressed the government’s efforts by saying that investigating the delivery company and trying to make it accountable for knowing what people were shipping was misguided. Instead, the company said, it should have been focusing on investigating the illegal pharmacies.

Unfortunately, this is often how these drug trafficking investigations play out. Agencies dedicate massive resources to capitalize on any and every alleged link between illicit drug providers and consumers.

Ultimately, this means that state and federal authorities will come down particularly hard on people suspected of involvement in a drug ring. It also means that they place a significant amount of value on any information that gets them to another suspect. This can make it very difficult for the individuals caught up in these efforts to understand what rights they have and what they can do to protect themselves. Because of this, it is recommended that anyone accused of being involved in drug trafficking have legal representation.