MERIDAN MAN SENTENCED TO OVER 41 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROLE IN MULTI-STATE DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION

Jackson, MS - A Meridian, Mississippi man was sentenced to 500 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge Matt Reidell and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Phillip Pope.

According to court documents, from June 2016 through May of 2018, Samuel Ykem Boler, 33, conspired with others to distribute kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from California and Tennessee into central Mississippi. This case is the result of an extensive investigation dubbed “Operation Highlife,” which targeted illegal methamphetamine distribute in central Mississippi.

This case was investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The case is being prosecuted by Criminal Chief Erin Chalk.