Washington, D.C.– Troy Hopkins, a 31-year-old Lanham, Maryland resident, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton to life imprisonment for his role in a large-scale PCP distribution network. Hopkins, a career offender, was convicted of narcotics conspiracy in November of 2007, after a two-month trial.

The government presented evidence at trial that established that Troy Hopkins, one of the principal leaders of the conspiracy, developed relationships with California PCP suppliers who sold gallon quantities of the drug. Hopkins and other co-conspirators then used drug couriers – often young women – to carry gallons of PCP aboard airline jets that flew from Los Angeles International Airport, Long Beach Airport, and Burbank Airport into Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport and Dulles International Airport. These drug couriers carried the PCP in mouthwash, body lotion, or shampoo bottles packed in their checked luggage, while Hopkins took later flights to distance himself from the couriers during the transportation process. Hopkins alone made in excess of 25 trips to Los Angeles during a three-year period in order to purchase the PCP, and he established a network of more than 10 drug couriers. In a 24-month period alone, Hopkins and his co-conspirators were responsible for transporting in excess of 30 kilograms of PCP from California to the Washington metropolitan area.

Once the PCP arrived in the Washington area, local members of the conspiracy “cut” the PCP with car starter fluid in order to extend their profits. The conspirators then sold the PCP to wholesale customers. The PCP would be resold on the streets of the District of Columbia and Maryland. Hopkins made an estimated $20,000 to $40,000 profit per gallon reselling the PCP.

The prosecution was the result of a multi-year investigation and was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it involved the OCDETF and HIDTA task forces.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor commended FBI Special Agents Timothy Ervin, Tucker Vanderbunt, Kevin Ashby, Timothy Foster, Jesus Gomez, and John Bevington, and FBI Supervisory Telecommunications Specialist Daniel Wentz, Prince George’s County, Maryland Police Detective Sean Deere and the Prince George’s County Police Major Narcotics Enforcement Division, Calvert County, Maryland Sheriff’s Detective Scott Parrish, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents Amin Fard, John Haggerty, and Cindy Buskey, Supervisory Special Agent James Benicek, and Chemist Steven Demchuck, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy John Cater, Los Angeles Police Officer John Ashpaugh and Detective Daniel Armand, and Burbank, California Police Department Detective David Kleinfeld and Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Kelly for their work on the investigation of this case. In addition, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended Paralegal Supervisor Mary Downing, and Paralegal Specialists Mia Beamon and Carolyn Carter-McKinley who assisted in the investigation and prosecution, as well as Litigation Support personnel Thomas Royal, Errol Spears, Tim Linder, Victim Witness Unit Specialist Dawn Tolson-Hightower and former Criminal Division Intern Ivanna Deyrup. Finally, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Elisa Poteat and Emory V. Cole, who investigated and prosecuted this matter.