United States Drug Enforcement Administration

APR 17 - BURLINGTON, Vt. - On April 17, Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent-in-Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Leander Hannibal, 39, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that he possessed with the intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base. U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered that Hannibal serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.

According to court records, in June and July of 2016, Hannibal was bringing quantities of heroin and cocaine base from New York City to Vermont in order to distribute those drugs. After an investigation, on July 15, 2016, agents from the DEA arrested Hannibal. DEA seized approximately 11 grams of heroin and 28 grams of cocaine base from him and he has been in federal custody since.

For his crime, Hannibal faced a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison. The government and the defense agreed that a 37-month prison sentence was appropriate. In imposing that sentence, Judge Sessions considered the severity of the offense, the harm heroin has caused the Vermont community, and Hannibal’s criminal record, among other factors.

Acting United States Attorney Eugenia Cowles commended the efforts of DEA, the Burlington Police Department, and the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force for their work in this investigation. Acting United States Attorney Cowles noted that this case is part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Vermont Heroin Initiative, which is a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat heroin distribution in Vermont.