Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
A Jamaican citizen has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and illegal reentry into the United States. O’Shane Christopher Smith, 35, received a 100-month sentence from U.S. District Judge John R. Adams in Cleveland federal court.
Smith was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation after his release, as required by law.
Court records show that on January 20, 2023, federal investigators intercepted a suspicious package shipped from a UPS store in Inglewood, California, to Ohio. After obtaining a search warrant, authorities found approximately 11 pounds of methamphetamine inside the parcel. Investigators conducted a controlled delivery to an address in Cleveland.
After the package was delivered, Smith arrived at the location, retrieved it, and left in a Jeep vehicle. Ohio State Highway Patrol officers attempted a traffic stop shortly afterward. Smith tried to flee but crashed into a tree and ran through neighborhood yards before being apprehended following a brief chase.
Smith later admitted he had been offered $1,000—half paid upfront—to retrieve and deliver the parcel containing drugs. He also acknowledged entering the United States illegally from Mexico near San Diego the previous year without government authorization for readmission. Smith had previously been removed from the country for illegal reentry in March 2021.
The investigation involved several agencies: DEA Detroit Division’s Cleveland Field Office, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol-Sandusky Bay Station, and Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Assistant United States Attorneys James P. Lewis and Elizabeth Crook prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
According to officials, this prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national effort by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime.
