Man Sentenced to Prison for Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for his role in a heroin trafficking conspiracy that crossed most of South Hampton Roads.

According to court documents, Ingram Cox, 35, regularly received heroin from co-defendant Kyam Washington, which Cox then sold to local drug dealers and users. The group imported bulk amounts of heroin from out-of-state sources, and at times used a common cell phone number that buyers would call to order drugs. Narcotics, multiple firearms, a bullet-proof vest, a commercial money counter, and nearly $100,000 were seized during search warrants of houses used by members of the conspiracy.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation View Crew. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police; and Kelvin Wright, Chief of the Chesapeake Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse, Joseph E. DePadilla, and John F. Butler prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:19-cr-006.