Jackson, Miss. - Kevin Ashley Wells, a/k/a “Big 50," 37, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. Chief District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to 53 months in federal prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.
On Oct. 13, 2015, Wells sold a quantity of methamphetamine to a confidential informant. He pled guilty on July 20, 2018, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The case is the result of an extensive investigation, dubbed AOperation Highlife,@ which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in east central Mississippi area that involved the distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana. The distribution network encompasses the States of California, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.
“Methamphetamine has devastated countless communities due to the dramatic health and public safety consequences that typically accompany its introduction into an area," said Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans Jere T. Miles. “Today’s guilty plea stems from an extensive HSI effort with its federal, state and local partners to dismantle a drug trafficking organization that decimated parts of Mississippi and Alabama with methamphetamine smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico. This operation is a testament to the seamless partnership between HSI, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and we are thankful for their assistance as well as the U.S. Attorneys’ to improve the lives of law-abiding residents throughout Mississippi and Alabama."
This case is a result of a joint investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Assisting agencies include the Philadelphia Police Department, Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Neshoba County District Attorney’s Office, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Flowood Police Department, Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, Carthage Police Department, Union Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Louisville Police Department, Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the United States Marshal Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
