Attorney Edward Bajoka: Leading Detroit Drug Trafficking Defense Attorney

Drug trafficking is the possession with the intent to distribute or the actual distribution of a certain threshold quantity of drugs. A prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt all of the elements associated with possession as well as the particular amount of the drugs charged in the indictment. Trafficking is the most serious of all Michigan drug crimes. When drug trafficking involves heavy quantities of drugs or large amounts of money, the FBI and DEA is usually involved. There are a variety of factors that can take a drug trafficking case out of state court and into federal court. If a wide-scale scheme is shown or drugs are being moved from state to state, then a drug trafficking charge will likely become a federal matter. The FBI, DEA and other related agencies have long made federal drug trafficking a prime focus in their crime-fighting efforts. You can be prosecuted for drug trafficking even if you have never stepped foot in the United States. If you are being investigated for drug trafficking it is important to know that the federal government is not taking these cases lightly. Expect the full force of the federal government in investigating and prosecuting drug trafficking cases.

Attorney Edward Bajoka has been defending drug trafficking in Michigan for several years. He has an unparalleled track record of success. He has won countless drug trafficking cases by going to trial and winning. This includes winning motions to suppress illegal searches and seizures and winning cases with motions to dismiss. Call Attorney Bajoka today for a consultation at (844) 4BAJOKA. He knows how to win these case cases. 

Common examples of drug trafficking include:

Bringing in illegal drugs from other countries

Possessing illegal drugs

Being involved in the transportation of illegal drugs

Being involved in the sale or distribution of illegal drugs

Being involved in the manufacturing of illegal drugs

Marijuana trafficking, as it is still federally illegal

The punishments for drug trafficking include:

Prison: A first offense cocaine trafficking conviction under 5kg but over 500g can result in a minimum sentence of 5 years in prison. For heroin trafficking over 1kg you can receive a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison up to life. If a death or serious injury results from fentanyl trafficking, this minimum can go up to 20 years in prison.

Probation: Probation is an alternative to jail that a judge can sentence someone for a drug trafficking conviction. As part of the probation, the offender will have to follow certain guidelines, may have to submit for drug or alcohol screening, and will have an assigned probation agent that they will need to stay in close contact with. Violations of probation can result in lengthy prison sentences.

Restitution: A judge can order an offender to pay back the money improperly obtained due to their illegal activity. This number can easily end up in the millions of dollars.

Fines: Anyone convicted of a drug trafficking offense is subject to hefty fines. Drug trafficking committed by an individual can lead to a $2 million fine. A drug trafficking conspiracy committed by two people or more can lead to a $5 million fine. A second offense fine can be as high as $10 million.

Other: A drug trafficking conviction can result in forfeitures of both money and property.

It is often the case that the primary way to attack a drug trafficking charge is to attack the legal basis of the seizure of the drugs. There are generally 3 ways to attack a seizure of drugs in a drug case:

1\. Challenge the basis for the police to stop your vehicle, order you from the vehicle, and to search your vehicle.
2\. Contest any search warrant to search your home based on a lack of probable cause.
3\. Challenge any search of your person under the United States Constitution.

Attorney Edward Bajoka of Bajoka Law in Detroit has extensive experience in defending drug trafficking cases. Some common defenses are:

Compulsion, Duress/Coercion: The defendant was under unlawful threat of death or serious bodily injury forcing him/her to violate the laws. The defendant must receive an immediate or imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury; have a reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out; there was no reasonable opportunity for the defendant to escape the threatened harm except by committing the criminal act.

Necessity: The pressure of the circumstances causes the defendant to violate criminal law in order to avoid a greater harm that would have resulted if he/she complied with the law.

Lack of Knowledge: The ability to show that the defendant did not know the drugs were in his/her vehicle or wherever they were found.

Entrapment: Government inducement of criminality to one who was not predisposed to the crime. In drug trafficking, the government may induce the defendant to sell drugs in a particular amount in order to trigger a mandatory minimum sentence.

Mitigation: Often times people become victims of drug traffickers and are forced to transport illegal drugs. One could be able to mitigate your role in the transportation of the drugs.

If you or a loved one has been charged with drug trafficking or have been questioned by the authorities regarding this type of crime, contact Attorney Edward Bajoka of Bajoka Law in Detroit at (844) 4BAJOKA
today.