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NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon sentenced TRACY MORGAN, age 51, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, on June 30, 2022, to a total of 46 months in the Bureau of Prisons for two charges, consisting first of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine hydrochloride and second of  interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to the court records, in August 2019, on behalf of co-conspirator Ellis Batiste, Sr., MORGAN transported money from Louisiana to Texas to pay for 10 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, which she then transported back to Louisiana where she was subsequently stopped and arrested by law enforcement.

During the investigation, law enforcement seized over 15 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and over 1 kilogram of fentanyl.  The majority of these controlled substances  were being transported from Houston, Texas into the Eastern District of Louisiana.

District Judge Lemmon sentenced MORGAN to the 46 month term of  imprisonment to be followed by three (3) years of supervised release. Judge Lemmon also ordered that MORGAN pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for each charge .

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Saint John the Baptist Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Usher prosecuted the matter.