Meth dealer in big drug ring sentenced

Meth dealer in big drug ring sentenced

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A known area meth dealer has been sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison on federal charges stemming from a major drug trafficking ring involving his brother, one of the main players in an investigation dubbed Operation High Life.

Jerome Miller, 47, of Texas has been sentenced to prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for his role in distributing kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from Texas to Neshoba County and other parts of Mississippi going as far back as 2016.

Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said Miller was arrested in July 2018 in Texas on drug charges related to the trafficking of crystal methamphetamine.

Clark said Miller pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced on Dec. 23 and is being held in Madison County.

Miller was wanted in Neshoba County in connection with Operation High Life, a now five-year-long investigation involving the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Philadelphia Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans and other agencies that culminated most recently in sweeping arrests on May 14 in Neshoba County. Eight people were arrested in May 2018.

Clark said Miller has been suspected of supplying meth to the Philadelphia area as far back as 2016. The drug network involved the distribution in one instance of over 40 kilograms of methamphetamine, over 3 kilograms of cocaine and over 100 pounds of marijuana, the authorities aid. The distribution network encompassed multiple states, including Texas, California, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.

“He was part of a larger supply chain,” Clark said. “He was known to supply drugs to Neshoba County.”

Clark said local, state and federal law enforcement are “still unwinding” that investigation that started in 2016 and has led to such operations as the more than 35 arrests made earlier this year.

Miller was being held earlier this week in the Madison County Detention Center on one federal charge of conspiracy.

Jerome Miller’s brother, Brandon Deshanta Miller, 32, of Dallas has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, Miller faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and up to a $30.25 million fine.

An additional thirty-seven suspects have been brought in since May on charges related to the trafficking and sale of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine in Neshoba County related to Operation High Life.

Law enforcement officials said the operation took about $5 million in illegal drugs off the streets, including seizures of 85 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $3.5 million, 5 kilograms of cocaine worth about $500,000, 270 pounds of marijuana worth $1 million, 300 dosage units of fentanyl worth about $6,000 and 16 firearms, throughout the investigation.






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