Conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance

Mailing drugs constitutes a conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (“CDS”). It is a very serious crime that can lead to a first or second-degree criminal charge in addition to CDS Distribution charges. This charge will result when two or more persons engage in an agreement to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and at least one of the conspirators carries out an overt act in furtherance of the crime. If none of the conspirators commit an overt act, a conviction for conspiracy cannot result. An experienced criminal drug defense lawyer may be able to have the charges against you dismissed by proving that an overt act was never committed in furtherance of the crime.

In this case, however, there was an overt act and that was the use of the U.S. Mail and other parcel delivery services to ship cocaine.

A Jamaican recording artist, Andrew K. Davis, and his brother, Kemar Davis, were charged by New Jersey Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman as leaders and 13 others were charged as co-conspirators in a first-degree indictment against an international drug ring that used the U.S. Mail and other parcel delivery services to ship multiple kilograms of cocaine from California into New Jersey.

“The Postal Service is in the business of moving the mail and has no interest in being the unwitting accomplice to anyone using the U.S. Mail to distribute illegal drugs,” said Kevin Niland, Postal Inspector in Charge, Boston Division.

Penalties for Conspiracy to Distribute a CDS

Penalties for conspiracy depend on the underlying crime. For example, conspiracy to commit a first-degree crime will result in a second degree conspiracy charge. When the underlying crime is not a first-degree crime, conspiracy will be a crime of the same degree as the underlying crime. Thus, if you commit a third-degree crime as a result of a conspiracy, you will be charged with third-degree conspiracy. Despite the severity of conspiracy charges, there are many ways for an experienced attorney to mitigate the penalties. The right attorney may be able to lessen the penalties by showing that the defendant is not a public danger or that the conspiracy is only peripherally related to the main unlawful enterprise.

Daniel R. Perlman
The Law Offices of Daniel R. Perlman
https://www.danielperlmanlaw.com