News Release
June 9, 2004
Contact: Laura DiCesare PIO—202.305.8093

Two Hundred Pounds of Marijuana Seized In Norfolk, VA

JUN 18 -- One individual was arrested early yesterday morning in Norfolk, Virginia on a federal complaint charging him with possession with intent to distribute Marijuana. Laura M. Nagel, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Washington Division announced that Matt CODER, age 28, of Encinitas, California was arrested early on Tuesday, June 8, in the parking lot of the Chesapeake Municipal Airport after arriving on a chartered Lear 36 private jet from Carlsbad, California. Personnel from the DEA Norfolk Resident Office met the aircraft and were assisted by personnel from the Chesapeake and Norfolk Police Departments.

According to an affidavit, the arrest was made after a drug sniffing K-9 from the Norfolk Police Department alerted to a controlled substance in luggage belonging to a passenger on the flight. A subsequent search of the luggage determined that approximately two hundred pounds of marijuana was inside the luggage. The estimated street value of the marijuana is estimated between $300,000 to $400,000.

" The DEA is committed to relentlessly pursuing those who traffic in predatory drugs," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Nagel. "Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate and arrest those responsible for bringing illegal drugs into our communities."

If convicted, CODER could be facing a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. The case is continuing to be investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Chesapeake Police Department and the Norfolk Police Department.