A 40-year-old Meridian man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a major drug trafficking organization operating in the area.
According to court documents, Marcus Tremaine Powell conspired with at least 15 co-defendants to distribute significant quantities of illegal narcotics in and around Meridian. The drugs trafficked included kilogram amounts of powder and crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana.
Powell was one of approximately 50 individuals arrested in January 2024 as part of a wide-ranging federal crackdown on drug trafficking networks in the region. The arrests stemmed from nine separate federal indictments targeting high-level dealers in East Mississippi.
Powell was named in two of those indictments and later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute multiple controlled substances.
Federal authorities say the investigation represents one of the largest coordinated anti-drug efforts in the history of the Meridian area, aimed at dismantling organized networks fueling addiction and violence in the community.
Powell will serve his sentence in federal prison with no possibility of parole, as mandated under federal sentencing guidelines.
