St. Louis Man Sentenced for Attempting to Purchase Cocaine

East St. Louis, Ill. – A St. Louis man is heading to prison after arranging to purchase a kilogram 
of cocaine. Ifiok J. Equere, 54, appeared in federal district court today and was sentenced to 70 
months in prison for attempting to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of 
cocaine. Equere pled guilty to the charge last November.
The offense occurred on March 15, 2019. According to court documents, Equere arranged to purchase 
cocaine from a confidential source working at the direction of law enforcement. Equere was 
operating as a middleman for a third-party distributor and agreed to meet the source at a 
predetermined location in Madison County, Illinois. Equere agreed to pay $27,800 for a kilogram of 
cocaine.

While in route to make the purchase, Equere and the distributor were pulled over on I-270 in 
Madison County. Officers searched the car and found $27,800 in the glove compartment. Equere was 
set to receive $500 as payment for setting up the transaction.

As part of his sentence, Equere was ordered to forfeit his interest in the $27,800 seized from his 
car and pay a $200 fine. Upon his release from prison, Equere will serve a 4-year term of 
supervised release.

This cas   was investigated by the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel T.
Kapsak.