Jamaican dancehall DJ Flippa Moggela convicted of running California New Jersey cocaine ring
CAMDEN, N.J. _ A Jamaican dancehall DJ was convicted Thursday for his part in a drug ring that used the U.S. Postal Service and other delivery services to ship cocaine from California to New Jersey.
Andrew Davis, a Kingston, Jamaica, resident who records under the name Flippa Moggela, was convicted of drug distribution charges after two of his brothers pleaded guilty in September for their roles in the ring.
Defence attorney Robin Lord said the judge declared a mistrial on a charge that Davis led a drug- trafficking network. She said she plans to appeal the convictions on the grounds that he was deprived of a fair trial, based on issues with transcripts from a wiretap that recorded conversations in the Jamaican Patois language.
Davis ran the drug operation from both New Jersey and Jamaica with his brother Kemar Davis. Kemar Davis and another brother, Roger Davis, pleaded guilty to drug possession charges.
Andrew Davis directed Kemar Davis and others to ship cocaine from California to New Jersey, where it was then distributed to dealers. Prosecutors said that an operation known as “Operation Next Day Air” run by state and federal officials netted 26 kilograms of cocaine _ worth nearly $1 million _ more than $500,000 in cash and two handguns.
“Andrew and Kemar Davis thought they were beyond the reach of the law, reaping huge profits in Jamaica and California while they shipped their cocaine into our communities in New Jersey,” said Elie Honig, director of the state’s Division of Criminal Justice. “I’m proud to say that we put a stop shipment on their corrosive product and, with the help of our federal partners, extended our reach the length of the continent to capture these two major drug traffickers.”
Andrew Davis was convicted after a seven-week trial. He faces 10 to 20 years in state prison for the cocaine distribution charge and five to 10 years in prison for money laundering and conspiracy charges.
“He maintains his innocence,” Lord said. “He is confident when all is said and done he will be acquitted of these charges.”
A co-defendant in the Camden County trial, Marsha Bernard, was convicted of the same charges. Prosecutors say she received large cocaine shipments that she distributed to other drug traffickers under the Davis’ brothers direction.
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This story has been clarified to show that Davis was convicted for his role in the drug ring. The judge declared a mistrial on a charge that he led a drug trafficking network.
The Associated Press
