After a five-day trial, Osman Malik Sesay, 32, from Gambrills, Maryland, was found guilty by a federal jury on multiple charges related to drug trafficking and firearm possession. The verdict includes charges of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, maintaining a drug-involved premises, and possession of firearms — including a machinegun — in furtherance of his drug trafficking crimes.
Sesay's conviction for possessing a machinegun as part of his drug trafficking activities mandates a consecutive sentence of 30 years imprisonment. Additionally, he faces another mandatory consecutive sentence of five years for possessing another firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking on an earlier occasion.
The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan from the FBI's Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Chief Amal E. Awad from the Anne Arundel County Police Department; and Chief Malik Aziz from the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).
Evidence presented during the trial showed that between November 13, 2020, and July 16, 2021, Sesay conspired with others to distribute marijuana on a large scale. He used fake identifications and stolen luxury vehicles to facilitate his operations. He also leased apartments under false names to store drugs and firearms.
In March 2021, detectives observed Sesay operating stolen vehicles. On April 29, 2021, he was arrested while driving a stolen Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged in Prince George’s County. Authorities discovered more than $14,000 in cash and fraudulent identification linking him to an apartment where drugs were stored.
Further investigations revealed that after being released on bond pending trial on June 30, 2021, surveillance footage captured him conducting a drug transaction out of a stolen Corvette in Washington D.C. On July 16, law enforcement executed search warrants at his rented apartments in Lanham and Gambrills where they recovered approximately 90 pounds of marijuana along with firearms.
Sesay faces various sentences ranging from five years to life imprisonment depending on each charge's specifics. Sentencing is scheduled for July 29th before U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), aiming to reduce violent crime through collaboration among law enforcement agencies and communities.
U.S Attorney Hayes commended all involved agencies for their efforts in this investigation while acknowledging Assistant U.S Attorneys Patrick D Kibbe & Brooke Y Oki who are prosecuting this case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S Attorney’s Office visit www.justice.gov/usao-md or https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach
