United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

Tarik Muhammad, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. On June 3, 2022, Muhammad pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

Muhammad was charged in June 2020 along with 23 others as part of  a multi-year investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) comprised of Boston-based street gang members and associates. According to the charging documents, beginning in November 2018, law enforcement investigated drug trafficking activities in the Commonwealth Development in Brighton, formerly known as Fidelis Way, a multi-apartment public housing development. It is alleged that the defendants, through their drug trafficking activities, assumed control over multiple apartments, where they stored, cooked, packaged and sold drugs. As a result, their activities caused a blight of the development and reduced the quality of life of the other residents.

The investigation also targeted large-scale drug suppliers and their associates. It is alleged that the targets continued to distribute cocaine and cocaine base throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.

Muhammad was identified as a drug distributor for the DTO. Intercepted calls between Muhammad and Kenji Drayton, one of the main suppliers and distributors within the DTO, revealed communication regarding coordinated meetup locations, which law enforcement surveilled. Subsequently, law enforcement stopped their vehicle and searched the occupants. While searching Muhammad, an object was found at the crease of Muhammad’s buttocks, at which time he was transported to the police station.

During the transport, Muhammad threw himself to the ground thrashing. Officers radioed these observations to the police station and upon arrival, Muhammad was found covered with white powder. A ripped plastic bag containing white residue was subsequently recovered from the outer area of Muhammad’s buttocks.

Muhammad is the eighth defendant to be sentenced in the case. Of the remaining defendants, 13 have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, three are pending trial and one defendant remains at large.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Douglas Bartlett, Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Assistance in the investigation was provided by the Braintree, Cambridge, Canton, Randolph and Weymouth Police Departments; the Suffolk, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorneys’ Offices; and the Suffolk, Plymouth and Norfolk County Sheriffs’ Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Timothy E. Moran, Chief of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit, prosecuted the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.