Federal Drug Conspiracy
Conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. section 846 is the most commonly charged federal drug offense. It requires only an agreement between two or more people to violate federal drug laws. The government does not have to prove that the defendant personally possessed, sold, or transported any drugs. While other conspiracies require an overt act, for a drug conspiracy an agreement is enough.
Exposure
A conspirator is liable for the total quantity of drugs reasonably foreseeable to that conspirator. A courier who made three deliveries can be held responsible for the full weight of the conspiracy’s operation if the government can show the courier knew the scope. The mandatory minimums are the same as for distribution: five years, ten years, or twenty years depending on substance and weight.
How conspiracy cases are built
Federal drug conspiracy cases rely on wiretaps, cooperating witnesses, and circumstantial evidence. The government records phone calls and text messages over weeks or months, turns arrested co-conspirators into cooperators, and presents the conspiracy as a narrative connecting dozens of transactions and participants.
The indictment often names ten, twenty, or thirty defendants. Each faces the same mandatory minimum based on the total conspiracy weight. The pressure to cooperate is enormous: the only way to get below the mandatory minimum is a government motion under section 5K1.1, and the government decides who cooperates and who does not.
Defense
We challenge the reliability of cooperating witnesses, the legality of the wiretaps, and the sufficiency of the government’s evidence that our client agreed to participate in the conspiracy at all.
We also challenge the scope of the conspiracy attributed to our client. The question is foreseeability: what did our client know about the size and nature of the operation? A person who sold an ounce of marijuana to a friend is not liable for a cartel’s multi-ton operation just because the friend’s supplier was part of that cartel. We fight to limit our client’s exposure to the drugs our client actually knew about.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a federal drug conspiracy charge?
A conspiracy is just an agreement to break the law. Under 21 U.S.C. section 846, an agreement between two or more people to violate federal drug laws is enough. The government does not have to prove that you personally possessed, sold, or transported any drugs.
What is the penalty for federal drug conspiracy?
A conspirator faces the same mandatory minimums as for drug distribution: five years, ten years, or twenty years depending on the substance and the weight attributed to the conspiracy. The weight attributed to a conspirator is the total quantity reasonably foreseeable to that person.
How does the government prove a federal drug conspiracy?
Federal drug conspiracy cases rely on wiretaps, cooperating witnesses, and circumstantial evidence. The government records phone calls and text messages over weeks or months, turns arrested co-conspirators into cooperators, and presents the conspiracy as a narrative connecting transactions and participants.
Can I be held responsible for drugs I never touched?
Yes. A conspirator is liable for the total quantity of drugs reasonably foreseeable to that conspirator. A courier who made three deliveries can be held responsible for the full weight of the conspiracy’s operation if the government can show the courier knew the scope.
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