Can the Federal Government Prosecute Someone For Drug Activity Outside the United States?
Many of my clients, involved in drug trafficking in other countries, often question the U.S. government's jurisdiction over their case. They fail to comprehend how their activities outside the United States could be subject to U.S. law. This lack of understanding can lead to severe consequences, and it's crucial to be aware of the potential risks.
Where the federal government would get authority and jurisdiction to charge people under these circumstances would be if the drugs in question were being moved into the United States. That would then be the minimum contact necessary for the FBI, Homeland Security, Secret Service, and DEA to become involved and prosecute someone who is in another country or engaging in activities there.
What they do is they track drugs, and if the drugs are coming into the U.S., then they can try to get to the root of the problem. In other words, where are these drugs coming from? For example, if they're coming from Costa Rica, Guatemala, China — whatever country — and they can show that they're coming in, then the feds will use their contacts in those countries to try and catch the source of the drugs.
Extradition Back to the United States
They make arrests in other countries, or they have authorities in other countries make arrests on their behalf and then extradite the person back to the United States. Or they'll secretly indict somebody here in the United States, and then when that person enters the United States, they'll arrest them.
So, there are all sorts of different ways the federal government can prosecute these big drug crimes, and if you're one of the people caught up in the net of a federal drug crime prosecution, or you have a family member who's been arrested.
If you or a family member is charged with drug trafficking, a RICO violation, or any other large-scale drug-related offense, it's crucial to seek legal representation immediately. An attorney can navigate the complexities of your case and take proactive steps to protect your interests from the outset.
Drug Trafficking and Mandatory Minimum Sentences
A lot of drug trafficking cases come with mandatory minimums because if the amount of drugs involved is over a certain amount, then that will trigger, for example, a 10-year mandatory minimum.
In many of these big drug trafficking cases, if somebody's involved with the movement of a large amount of drugs, then they're going to end up getting arrested and charged by the federal government.
They'd be facing a minimum of 10 years in prison just for the drug weight alone. So, an attorney must start to work on your case right away to see what can be done to try to avoid some of these mandatory minimums that come along with some of the federal drug crime cases.
The federal government's ability to apprehend individuals involved in drug crimes, even in foreign countries, using sophisticated investigative techniques such as GPS monitoring, underscores the seriousness of the situation. This should serve as a stark reminder of the risks involved in drug trafficking.
One of the most common ways to tie everything together is through wiretaps. They'll get a search warrant for the person's phone, wiretap them, listen to them, and start grabbing drug loads to prove that what's being discussed over the phone has to do with drug trafficking. Eventually, they'll issue an indictment and begin arresting those individuals involved in the drug enterprise they are investigating.
Use of Informants in Drug Cases
So, in addition to GPS monitoring and wiretap evidence, another big area that the feds used in these big drug cases is informants. They'll catch somebody with drugs, and then they'll try to get that person to cooperate against other people involved in the drug conspiracy.
So, this three-prong attack of informants, wiretaps, GPS — when that's combined with the good investigation, surveillance, video-taping, then they can start to put together these federal drug cases and arrest people, prosecute them, and then those people will have pressure put on them to try to cooperate with the federal government, and that's how they continue to catch people.
What they're really looking at doing is knocking out big amounts of drugs that are coming into the United States, being sold on U.S. streets, and they will go to other countries in order to do that.
Hedding Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, at 16000 Ventura Blvd, Suite 1208, Encino, CA 91436. We are also located at 633 West Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071—call (213) 542-0994 for a free case evaluation.
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