Luzerne County Man Sentenced To 60 Months In Prison For Drug Trafficking Offenses

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Al-Salaam I. Hale, age 46, of Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 60 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, for distributing heroin.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Hale was intercepted during a DEA wire investigation communicating with coconspirators regarding heroin trafficking in the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area.  Hale also sold heroin to a confidential informant who was working with agents as part of the investigation. The investigation determined that Hale was responsible for distributing between 100 and 400 grams of heroin.

The DEA investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley was the prosecutor.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun

violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

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