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Organized Crime And Drug Enforcement Task Force

The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies which include: DEA, FBI, ATF, IRS, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Coast Guard - in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

The OCDETF program in the Eastern District of Tennessee is strong and active. Working with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, we achieve outstanding results and consistently rank as one of the most productive OCDETF programs in the nation. With the help of our OCDETF partners we identify, investigate, and prosecute organized drug trafficking organizations from Mexican drug cartels to regional drug groups operating in the Eastern District of Tennessee. Some of the examples of OCDETF cases brought by our office include:

  • Jason Wayne Helton, a.k.a. Crack Baby, of Morristown, Tennessee, was sentenced to serve 262 months in federal prison following a conviction for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in east Tennessee. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/morristown-resident-sentenced-262-months-federal-prison-role-methamphetamine-conspiracy

  • Marco Bobo of Forrest City, Arkansas, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine. He was the leader of a drug trafficking organization involving seven co-defendants, which obtained powder cocaine in Forrest City, Arkansas, and transported it to Kingsport, Tennessee, where it was “cooked” into crack cocaine and distributed in the Tri-Cities. Bobo admitted to being conservatively responsible for distributing between 2.8 and 8.4 kilograms (6 to 18.5 pounds) of crack cocaine. In addition to receiving cash, he also received firearms in exchange for crack cocaine, some of which he kept and some he distributed to known drug traffickers. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/arkansas-resident-sentenced-serve-over-24-years-prison-distributing-crack-cocaine

  • Alan Davis, of Atlanta, was sentenced to serve 23 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He was a leader of a drug distribution network that trafficked high purity methamphetamine obtained in Atlanta into northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, operating out of several high-end hotel rooms in the Atlanta area and supplying dozens of conspirators with large quantities of methamphetamine. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/lead-methamphetamine-trafficker-sentenced-23-years-prison
  • Cornelius Q. Hill, of Chicago, was sentenced to 90 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to information on file with the U.S. District Court, DEA Special Agents seized approximately 40 grams of heroin and a loaded firearm from a hotel room Hill was using in Chattanooga. He admitted the heroin and firearm were his and that he was sent down to Chattanooga from Chicago to sell heroin for the Vice Lords, a violent street gang based out of Chicago. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/chicago-man-sentenced-90-months-heroin-and-firearms-charges-1

For more information about the national OCDETF program.

Updated January 7, 2022