Ohio man admits to role in drug conspiracy

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Kenyatta Banks, Jr., of Canal Winchester, Ohio has admitted to his role in a drug conspiracy that spanned several states, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Banks, age 29, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances.” Banks admitted to working with others to traffic methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin in Wetzel County, Ohio, Georgia, as well as into the southern district of West Virginia.

Banks faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert H. McWilliams, Jr. is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the West Virginia State Police, the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Martinsville Police Department investigated.

The investigation was funded in part by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy.  Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.