United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

COCAINE DEALER RECEIVES MAXIMUM SENTENCE
UNDER FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES

FORT WORTH, Texas — On June 27, 2008, Chinedu Leonard Momah, 48, of Lagos, Nigeria, was sentenced to 235 months (over 19 years) in federal prison by U.S. District Judge John McBryde, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. On February 8, 2008, Momah pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing cocaine. He has been in custody since his arrest in October, 2007. In December, 2007, Momah and one co-defendant, Johnson Obiegbu, 46, of Amityville, New York, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth. Obiegbu has also pled guilty to the indictment and was sentenced on May 30, 2008, to 97 months in prison.

“Nothing will deter criminals more than the certainty of stiff prison sentences, as was dispensed in this international cocaine and money-laundering case,” said John Chakwin Jr., special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Dallas. “This nearly 20-year prison sentence is the best demonstration that the cost of doing business transporting drugs is too high.” Chakwin oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the State of Oklahoma.

On October 29, 2007, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officers were conducting an outbound examination of passengers and baggage on British Airways flight 2192. The flight was scheduled to depart from DFW Airport, and arrive at London Gatwick Airport in London, England. During the examination of baggage, CBP x-rayed two orange suitcases, which, they discovered, contained several canister-shaped items. The baggage-claim tags affixed to those suitcases were numbers BA301238 and BA 301239, printed below the name “Obiegbu” on both claim tags. CBP removed the canisters and discovered a white powdery substance inside them, which, after analysis, proved to be approximately 4,135 grams of actual cocaine.

CBP then conducted an outbound examination of passengers during the boarding of flight 2192. During the examination, co-defendant Obiegbu presented his flight ticket and his U.S. passport to CBP. Baggage claim stickers BA301238 and BA301239 were attached to the paper sleeve that held Obiegbu’s flight ticket. CBP inquired about the checked bags and Obiegbu responded that he checked two bags, on behalf of another passenger and that if there was anything in those bags it did not belong to him. CBP identified the other passenger as Momah and escorted him off the flight. Upon further examination, Obiegbu identified the two orange suitcases that he checked in with British Airways on Momah’s behalf.

According to documents filed in Court, Momah admitted that he received the cocaine from another individual a day or two earlier and that he was to be paid upon delivery for transporting the cocaine to London. Momah also admitted that he recruited Obiegbu to carry and check in the luggage that contained the cocaine, and that he, Momah, purchased the plane tickets for himself and for Obiegbu.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the CBP and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Klinck prosecuted the case.

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