BATON ROUGE, LA - Acting United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that CHRISTOPHER BERNARD WADE, age 42, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson to serve 138 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release following his release from imprisonment. The sentence results from WADE’S conviction for possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841.
On May 3, 2012, WADE was stopped for a traffic violation on Interstate 10 near Grosse Tete, Louisiana. During a search of WADE’s vehicle, an Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Deputy located more than 15 kilograms of cocaine inside of the trunk. Special Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations were notified of the large drug seizure and assisted in the subsequent investigation. WADE later admitted that he intended to distribute the 15 kilograms of cocaine in New Orleans, Louisiana. At today’s sentencing, Chief Judge Jackson observed that although WADE had prior convictions involving drug and firearms offenses, he had “entered the big leagues" by trafficking more than 15 kilograms of cocaine.
“Today’s sentencing shows how effective the ongoing cooperation between Homeland Security Investigations and local law enforcement is in identifying and intercepting significant shipments of illegal drugs before they reach our streets," said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of HIS-New Orleans. “The Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office and its Interstate Patrol Division were vital to this case, and criminals should be on notice that HSI will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to identify and seek prosecution of drug crimes."
This investigation was conducted by the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office-Interstate Patrol Division and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Dippel.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
