Made At Least 30 Trips Between Baltimore and Houston, Texas Transporting Cash and Cocaine in Hidden Compartments in Courier Vehicles
Baltimore, Maryland - On Sept. 1, 2015, U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Brooke Renee Lunn, a/k/a “Brooke Thomas," and “Brooke Renee," age 48, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 12 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, in connection with his participation in the Jenifer drug trafficking organization (Jenifer DTO).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.
“This drug organization is a prime example of the complexities that DEA faces with today’s drug traffickers" stated Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert. “DEA deals with professional couriers, whose only job is to transport drugs and money without being detected by law enforcement. This was accomplished in this case by sophisticated electronic traps, or hidden compartments, in the courier vehicles which resulted in more than 750 kilograms of cocaine being shipped from Houston for distribution in Baltimore. The destruction of this organization is a testament to the hard work and tenacity of the Special Agents and investigators that lived and breathed this case for 18 months."
According to court documents and information provided at her plea and sentencing hearings, from September 2012 to October 2014, Lunn was the courier for the Jenifer DTO operating courier vehicles between Baltimore and Houston, Texas. The Jenifer DTO obtained its cocaine from suppliers in or around Houston, and transported money hidden in secret compartments in “courier vehicles" from Baltimore to Houston. The cocaine was then transported from Houston to Baltimore in the secret compartments in the courier vehicles. On Sept. 27, 2012, Lunn was operating a courier vehicle near Houston when the vehicle was stopped by the Texas State Police. John Moore was a passenger in the vehicle. Lunn consented to a search of the vehicle and law enforcement recovered approximately 30 kilograms of cocaine that were located in hidden compartments in the vehicle. Both Lunn and Moore were arrested and charged by Texas authorities. After being released on bond, Lunn and Moore returned to Maryland. Subsequently, on Oct. 20, 2012, Moore suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head. Law enforcement agents believe that Moore’s homicide was the direct result of the cocaine seizure.
After Lunn and Moore’s arrest in Texas in September 2012, the Jenifer DTO began using car-carriers to transport its courier vehicles loaded with cocaine. In July 2013, a Jenifer DTO courier vehicle, loaded on a car-carrier, was intercepted in Arkansas. Law enforcement recovered approximately 23 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment in the courier vehicle. After that seizure, the Jenifer DTO returned to its previous method of using Lunn to drive the courier vehicles between Baltimore and Houston transporting cash and/or cocaine.
Between August 2013 and October 2014, Lunn made approximately 30 trips to Houston, Texas, on behalf of the Jenifer DTO, to deliver money and return to Baltimore with kilogram-quantity loads of cocaine, concealed in secret compartments in the Jenifer DTO’s courier vehicles. All of the cocaine deliveries were made by Lunn for the Jenifer DTO while she was awaiting trial for the 30-kilogram seizure of cocaine in Texas.
During the early morning hours on October 9, 2014, Lunn arrived in Baltimore after departing Houston, Texas, operating one of the Jenifer DTO’s courier vehicles containing hidden compartments. Later that day, law enforcement agents executed a search and seizure warrant on the courier vehicle operated by Lunn, and approximately 27 kilograms of cocaine were seized from inside of the hidden compartments contained within the courier vehicle.
Lunn admitted that she was a member and co-conspirator of the Jenifer DTO, which was responsible for trafficking no less than 750 kilograms of cocaine from Houston to Baltimore from August 2013 to October 2014.
Co-conspirators Thomas Simmons, age 48 of Hampton, Virginia, William Hegie, age 54, Kermit Clark, age 44, and Elroy Johnson, age 49, all of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy and were each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation and Baltimore City and County Police Departments for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney John W. Sippel, Jr., who prosecuted the case, and expressed his appreciation to the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Texas and the Southern District of New York for their assistance in this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
