Press Release
☷Operation Smoke and Mirrors Update Kanawha County Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Role in Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( By Press Release office)
Mar 08,2024
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Michael Allen Roberts Jr . , a 40 - year - old from St . Albans , has been sentenced to 14 years in prison , plus three years of supervised release , for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization . The group operated in Charleston and Roberts admitted to conspiring with others to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine . In March 2023 , Roberts delivered around 4 pounds of methamphetamine to a co - defendant , who was later caught with the drugs in his vehicle . Law enforcement officers also seized 44 pounds of methamphetamine from a property in St . Albans , which Roberts admitted to placing there before the search . Roberts is one of 32 individuals indicted as part of Operation Smoke and Mirrors , a major drug trafficking investigation that has resulted in the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history . Alongside Roberts , 27 defendants have pleaded guilty , while indictments against the remaining defendants are pending . U . S . Attorney Will Thompson praised the efforts of various law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation . The Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department were involved in the case . Judge Thomas E . Johnston oversaw the hearings , while prosecutor Jeremy B . Wolfe handled the case . The investigation was part of the Department of Justice ' s efforts to combat organized crime and drug trafficking . This program , established in 1982 , aims to target major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations . It involves collaboration between federal agencies and local law enforcement to identify and dismantle serious criminal organizations that pose a threat to public safety , the economy , or national security .
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