Memphis, TN - Melvin Bullock, 31, of Knoxville, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute 20 kilograms of cocaine and distribution of 20 kilograms of cocaine. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, on Sept. 25, 2017, Melvin Bullock was stopped for a traffic violation on I-40 by an agent with the West Tennessee Drug Task Force. During that stop, the agent became suspicious of Bullock after he gave several false answers to questions and presented a fake driver’s license. The agent utilized his canine, who alerted to the presence of narcotics in the back seat of Bullock’s vehicle. Upon further search, 20 individually wrapped bundles of cocaine were found. The total weight of the cocaine was over 20 kilograms, about 50 pounds. The investigation revealed that the drugs came from over the border in Mexico to Houston, where the defendant retrieved them to transport them through Memphis en route to East Tennessee.
On Oct. 31, 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Bullock to 120 months in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "Interstate 40 is a major drug trafficking corridor into and through West Tennessee. Disrupting drug trafficking organizations and interdicting the flow of poisonous drugs into our communities is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to remain vigilant in the fight against foreign and domestic drug suppliers. Drug trafficking is not a victimless crime, and this significant federal sentence sends a message that such criminal activity will not be tolerated."
This case was investigated by the West Tennessee Drug Task Force, an extension of the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
