Pascagoula - Gulfport criminal defense attorney Sean Buckley is licensed to practice law in both Mississippi and Texas and has extensive experience defending clients arrested for drug trafficking along the I-10 corridor. If you’ve been arrested in Mississippi for allegedly transporting drugs, Gulfport criminal defense attorney Sean Buckley is ready to fight to defend your legal rights and your reputation.
Drug crimes are serious criminal offenses in Mississippi and carry punishments according to the type (“schedule”) of the alleged drug, the quantity of the drug, the type of drug activity involved, the defendant’s criminal history, and other relevant factors. Being accused of a drug crime can affect your freedom, your right to possess firearms, and your ability to get credit, employment, government contracts, security clearances, and other benefits. Drug cases involving the trafficking of controlled substances can carry extremely serious penalties under Mississippi and federal law – including sentences of up to life in prison. Depending on the facts surrounding the allegations, legal and factual defenses may be available. Pascagoula - Gulfport criminal defense attorney Sean Buckley aggressively represents clients accused of all state and federal drug crimes and is ready to defend your legal rights and your reputation.
The following sections discuss common examples of drug cases we handle including:
Interstate 10 Drug Cases
Prescription Drug Cases
Drug Possession, International Drug Trafficking, and Conspir acy Cases
Pascagoula - Gulfport criminal defense attorney Sean Buckley has over two decades of experience defending both minor and multi-kilogram drug cases along the I-10 corridor from Texas to Florida. Many drug arrests in South Mississippi occur during “interdiction” traffic stops along the I-10 corridor, which is a designated High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). These arrests often involve DEA Task Force, Federal Motor Carrier, and Border Patrol enforcement efforts aimed at intercepting three general categories of drug trafficking:
Interstate 10 Drug Cases
Transporting illegal street drugs (including fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, meth, THC, and various “analogues”) that originated in Mexico and entered the U.S. through “the Valley” in Texas;
Transporting genuine and counterfeit prescription “cocktail” drugs (including fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone, alprazolam, and carisoprodol) that originated in Mexico or were diverted from “pill mills” within the U.S.; and
Transporting cash proceeds from drug trafficking activity.
Vehicle-based drug arrests may give rise to a number of defenses. For example, both Mississippi and federal law provide that a person’s mere presence during a crime, without more, is not enough to link them to the crime. If you’ve been arrested for drugs during a highway traffic stop, the facts of your situation will be critical in assessing whether the prosecution can link you to criminal drug activity. Important facts in your case may include the following:
Who is the registered owner of the vehicle?
Was the vehicle a rental car, and if so, who rented it?
Were you a driver or a passenger?
Has the vehicle been logged by license plate readers (ALPRs) in other states?
Were the drugs found within your reach?
Was the vehicle modified to carry drugs (secret compartment, modified gas tank, recent body work, hollow car battery, fake spare tire, etc.?)
What statements – if any – did you or others make to police?
Were you carrying a “burner phone?”
Did the police seize your cell phone(s)?
Are you employed or have a regular occupation?
Were you carrying cash, and if so, how much?
Have you previously been convicted of a drug trafficking offense?
Are you a U.S. Citizen?
Police conducting searches and arrests along the I-10 corridor sometimes violate suspects’ Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. This can lead to suppression of evidence and sometimes, dismissal. We carefully evaluate every drug case for evidence of Fourth Amendment violations including:
improper traffic stops
improper reliance on information from informants
improper investigative delays
improper dog sniff procedures
improper searches
improper operation of density meters and x-ray machines
improper police questioning (which also implicates Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights
When we can establish evidence of a constitutional violation, we’ll use it to our client’s advantage and aggressively work to get drug evidence thrown out.
Pascagoula - Gulfport criminal defense attorney Sean Buckley is licensed to practice law in both Mississippi and Texas and has extensive experience defending clients arrested for drug trafficking along the I-10 corridor.
If you’ve been arrested in South Mississippi for allegedly transporting drugs,
Pascagoula - Gulfport criminal defense attorney Sean Buckley is ready to fight to defend your legal rights and your reputation!
