Trucker Sentenced To Prison For Hauling Cocaine
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - On Thursday, June 22, 2017, Robert Francis Kelly, age 56, of Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 64 months in prison for possessing approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine with the intent to distribute, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton and A. Clark Morris, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. In addition to the more than five-year prison sentence, Kelly will also be subject to five years of supervised release.
In August 2016, Kelly was driving a tractor-trailer truck on Interstate 85 when he was pulled over by an Alabama State Trooper in Montgomery County for having suspicious registration information. During the stop, he told the State Troopers that he was driving down from Delaware. Troopers confronted Kelly with contrary log records and Kelly admitted that he had lied to them. Kelly actually started his trip just a few miles from the Mexican border, and was headed to Atlanta, Georgia.
The State Troopers then performed a search of the vehicle and found a suspicious section of the rear truck axle. They discovered that part of the drive shaft and rear differential had been completely removed from Kelly’s truck to create a compartment. When the Troopers looked inside this compartment, they found the cocaine. The DEA estimates that the street value of 15 kilograms of cocaine is approximately a half-million dollars.
“This case is an example of the good that comes from law enforcement working together,” stated Bret Hamilton, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge. “Alabama State Troopers and DEA worked side-by-side to seize these drugs and put the drug dealers behind bars. Now, justice is served and our communities are safer.”
This case was conducted by DEA and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’(ALEA) Highway Patrol Division.
Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.
