A Cambridge man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving the transportation and distribution of cocaine. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar handed down the sentence to Deandrae Stull, 34, following his guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The sentencing was announced by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, along with officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Baltimore County Police Department, and Baltimore City Police Department.
According to court documents, federal agencies began investigating a Baltimore-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) in 2023 that was distributing large quantities of cocaine brought from California to Maryland. Stull and other members used commercial flights as a method to transport drugs.
The DTO utilized a tactic known as “ghost bags,” where flight tickets were purchased under proxy names and luggage containing narcotics was checked onto flights without the ticketed passenger boarding. Upon arrival at the destination airport, another member would retrieve the luggage.
Investigators reviewed flight records between January and May 2023 and found that at least 22 ghost-bag flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) were billed directly to Stull’s home address. Analysis also showed that Stull’s cell phone had connected to several IP addresses used for booking these flights. This led HSI to place Stull on its flight-watch list.
On June 14, 2023, United Airlines alerted authorities about Stull’s planned travel from LAX to BWI scheduled for June 15. The name “James Davis,” frequently used by the DTO as a proxy for ghost-bag flights, appeared on this booking. Investigators noted previous occasions where ghost-bag flights using this alias had billing addresses linked to Stull’s residence.
Upon Stull’s arrival at BWI on June 15, law enforcement conducted surveillance and deployed drug-detection dogs at baggage claim areas. A suitcase labeled with “James Davis” triggered alerts from two separate K-9 units indicating the presence of controlled substances. After retrieving the suitcase from baggage claim, Stull told authorities it belonged to a friend when questioned about ownership.
A search of the suitcase resulted in the recovery of approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine.
“This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.”
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended all participating agencies for their efforts in this investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin C. Miner for prosecuting the case.
Further information about resources available through the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md or https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
