Large-Scale Cocaine Supplier Sentenced in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Jamaican national was sentenced today to over six years in prison for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

According to court documents, from January through December 2019, Caswell Richards, 56, regularly supplied kilograms of cocaine to distributors in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Over the course of the conspiracy, Richards distributed at least 15 kilograms of cocaine to his co-conspirators. He distributed cocaine in Maryland through a middleman, Hopeton Fletcher, 53, of Gaithersburg, Maryland. Richards insulated himself from law enforcement detection by arranging transactions with Fletcher, who would then communicate directly with cocaine distributor Simeon Orekoya, 50, of Washington, D.C.. Orekoya, who was supplied with cocaine by numerous individuals in addition to Richards, distributed cocaine in the Eastern District of Virginia, as well as other locations throughout the D.C. metropolitan area from January 2017 through December 2019. 

Orekoya was sentenced on June 15, 2021, to 195 months of imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and firearms trafficking. Fletcher was sentenced on April 19 to 42 months of imprisonment for his role in the conspiracy.    

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Sarah Linden, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Criminal and Cyber Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Hahn and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bibeane Metsch prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest level criminal organization that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-18.