Press Release
BAHAMIAN DRUG KINGPIN SAMUEL KNOWLES SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS ON FEDERAL DRUG TRAFFICKING CHARGES
May 30, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, announced that defendant Samuel Knowles, a U.S. White House-designated Drug Kingpin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn to 35 years’ imprisonment and ordered to forfeit $13,900,000. On March 5, 2008, a jury found Knowles guilty of conspiracy to import and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.
In 2006, the Bahamian government extradited Knowles to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges pending against him in Miami, Florida. At trial, the United States established that Knowles was the leader of a sophisticated, multi-national drug trafficking organization that utilized “go-fast” boats to transport multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Colombia, Jamaica, and the Bahamas to the United States. Once the cocaine reached the United States, Knowles’ organization collected, stored, and distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine in South Florida. After the thousands of kilograms of cocaine were distributed in South Florida, tens of millions of dollars in drug profits were shipped back to Knowles in the Bahamas.
Mr. Acosta commended the cooperation and investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Royal Bahamian Police Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys George M. Karavetsos, Ricardo A. Del Toro, and Richard O.I. Brown.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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