HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The last defendant in a drug trafficking case that extended from Hawaii to Philadelphia was sentenced Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Lynden Lightburn of Los Angeles, who went by the street name “Soulja,” was sentenced to six years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.
According to court records from September 2020 to June 30, 2021, Lightburn supplied over 6.6 kilograms (14.5 pounds) of fentanyl, 6.4 kilograms (14.1 pounds) of heroin, and 2.8 kilograms (6.1 pounds) of methamphetamine to a Honolulu drug trafficking organization, called DTO, co-led by two Detroit men.
Documents said DTO obtained the drugs from Lightburn in Los Angeles, along with another man from Pennsylvania, and then mailed the drugs to Honolulu.
The attorney’s office said Lightburn pled guilty without a plea agreement to Count 1 of the fourth superseding indictment, charging conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The office said that the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Honolulu Police Department agents made dozens of controlled purchases of the drugs by conspirators and executed 15 search warrants on residences, rental storage units, and parcels.
The controlled purchases and warrants seized over 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of fentanyl, heroin, and meth, seven firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a vehicle, and over $250,000 in cash drug proceeds, the office said.
“Today’s sentence brings to a close years of collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners across multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies, as we worked tirelessly to bring down this large-scale, prolific, and dangerous drug trafficking operation,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.
Along with Lighburn, the office said 10 others have already prosecuted and sentenced in this and other related cases in Hawaii.
The case is part of a nationwide initiative called Operation Take Back America by the U.S. Department of Justice, which aims to reduce illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.
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