JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI – Landon Marquale Dupree, 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Kristi H. Johnson, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Jack P. Stanton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.
Although Dupree had previously been convicted of selling cocaine in Neshoba County, Mississippi, he again sold and distributed drugs (methamphetamine) in Philadelphia on July 15, 2020.
Dupree is scheduled for sentencing on May 12, 2021 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and up to a $8,000,000 fine.
This OCDETF operation is the result of an extensive investigation, dubbed “Operation Highlife”, which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in central Mississippi that involved the distribution of methamphetamine. The distribution network encompasses the States of Texas and Mississippi.
The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
The case is part of a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, with assistance from Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Philadelphia Police Department, Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Neshoba County District Attorney’s Office, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Flowood Police Department, Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, Carthage Police Department, Union Police Department, Louisville Police Department, and Mississippi Highway Patrol. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Chalk.