J’can drug runner convicted in US on multiple charges

A Jamaican man has been convicted in the United States (US) for leading a drug syndicate that operated in several American cities.

Oneil Wilks, 42, was also found guilty of money laundering and identity fraud by a federal jury in Connecticut after a 10-day trial that ended last Wednesday.

Wilks, who has been in custody since his 2019 arrest, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22 next year.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years in prison to a maximum of life imprisonment.

A judge also ordered that the Jamaican forfeit three motor vehicles – a Dodge Ram truck, a RAV4 and an Acura MDX – diamonds valued at US$50,000, a wristwatch valued at US$12,000 and US$180,000 held in a bank account.

He illegally re-entered the US after being deported to Jamaica in February 2014, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut disclosed in a statement.

Wilks first landed on the radar of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in November 2018 after several persons, including Louie McDowell, were arrested for distributing large quantities of crack cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in and around Bridgeport, Connecticut, according to court documents from his trial.

Several false names

Investigators later discovered that McDowell was being supplied by Wilks, who resided in the State of California and used several false names, including ‘Michael Levar Grant’ and ‘Christopher Rodgers’.

Both men became friends while they were incarcerated in a US prison and agreed to work together after their release, according to prosecutors.

Concerned about a second deportation, Wilks contacted McDowell after their release and sought assistance with getting a US passport.

As a result, McDowell enlisted the help of a relative to sell her son’s identification information to Wilks, prosecutors said, explaining how he was able to assume the name ‘Michael Levar Grant’.

Wilks used the false identity to obtain a Florida driver’s licence in 2015 and a US passport in 2016 as well as to travel outside the US on trips to Japan and Thailand.

He was arrested on August 5, 2019 on charges of illegally re-entering the US, passport fraud and identity theft by investigators who were concerned that he would flee the US while they gathered evidence of his extensive drug syndicate which spanned five states.

Search warrants

That same day authorities in Orange County, California, who were also investigating Wilks, executed three search warrants for residences linked to him and a vehicle he was driving.

A search of the homes and the vehicle revealed four kilograms of fentanyl, over US$160,000 in cash, packaging materials, paraphernalia and false identifications.

A month before the arrest, authorities in California executed a search warrant for a box that was dropped off at a United Parcel Service shipping centre and destined for Connecticut.

A search of the box led to the seizure of six kilograms of suspected cocaine.

Wilks was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin; five kilograms or more of cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl; one count of making a false statement in a passport application; one count of aggravated identity theft; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.