Defendant Sentenced and Over $900,000 Forfeited in Drug Conspiracy
DES MOINES - On April 25, 2008, Garfield Atkins, 32, of Wilmington, Delaware, was sentenced by United States District Judge Ronald E. Longstaff to76 months incarceration, a special assessment of $100 to the Crime Victim Fund, five years supervised release and the forfeiture of over $900,000 for his part in a conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, announced United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker.
This case arose out of the interdiction of $921,520 from a semi trailer that was stopped in Dallas County, Iowa, October 25, 2006. The money was drug proceeds en route to the marijuana supplier in California. Atkins was involved in the distribution of the marijuana in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that was brought from California, and then the money from the sales of marijuana on the East coast was transported back across the country including through Iowa to California. The money has been forfeited.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Iowa State Patrol.