United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PORTLAND, MAINE - Kevin L. Lane, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Rashidi Campbell, 32, of Jamaica, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland by Judge George Z. Singal, to 20 years imprisonment for distributing cocaine base, commonly known as crack cocaine, in the Greater Portland area. Following his term of imprisonment, Campbell will be sent to federal immigration authorities to be processed for deportation. Campbell was convicted on December 1, 2011, following a jury trial.

Court records reveal that from early 2010 until about May 2011, Campbell was part of a drug organization that used several apartments to distribute crack cocaine. Witnesses reported that the organization operated “24/7” (24 hours per day and seven days per week), that its clientele largely consisted of people receiving public assistance benefits, and that sales were significantly higher on days when public benefits were distributed. Trial evidence showed that crack cocaine sales at one of the apartments ranged from $500 to $2,000 per day.

In imposing sentence, Judge Singal noted that the organization “was one of the more serious drug conspiracies in this district.”

The investigation was conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Portland and Scarborough Police Departments.