Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, announced the sentencing of defendant Zeiad “Isaac” Ali Idheileh, 32, of Vero Beach, Florida, to 120 months in prison, by the Honorable United States District Court Judge Donald L. Graham.

On April 8, 2010, Idheileh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. According to the stipulated factual basis in support of the guilty plea, the PSL Police Department (PSLPD) received information that Zeiad “Isaac” Ali Idheileh’s group was interested in purchasing multiple kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride. Detectives recorded several telephone conversations with Idheileh, where Idheileh discussed his other associates, including co-defendant Awni S. Abdallah. Idheileh was recorded saying that his group usually purchased multiple kilograms of cocaine and resold the narcotics in Canada.

Subsequently, Idheileh met with a Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD) undercover detective and advised his group was interested in purchasing up to 100 kilograms of cocaine and that they “were sitting on” approximately $600,000 in order to complete the deal. The undercover detective and Idheileh negotiated and agreed upon a purchase price of between $22,000-$24,000 per kilogram. For about a month and a half, Idheileh and Abdallah spoke and met with the PSLPD undercover detective in order to negotiate the terms and logistics of their purchase of 5-30 kilograms of cocaine from the undercover detective.

During Monday’s sentencing hearing, the Honorable District Court Judge Graham found that Idheileh made threats to the undercover officer and that he possessed a gun during the course of the instant offense. As a result, Idheileh did not receive a “safety valve” reduction in his sentence.

On March 5, 2010 Awnie Abdallah pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. On May 28, 2010, Abdallah was sentenced to 70 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Port St. Lucie Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.

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A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.