Wilkes-Barre Man Sentenced To 10 Years’ Imprisonment For Drug Trafficking

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Andrew Pope, age 45, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on May 15, 2024, to 120 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl, and over 50 grams of methamphetamine.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, between May 2021 and April 2022, Pope was involved in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of multiple different types of drugs throughout Luzerne County. 

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Hardik prosecuted the case.

This case was 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.

This case is also 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.

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