Martinsburg man sentenced for role in drug trafficking operation

 MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Michael Pierre Christian, of Martinsburg West Virginia, was sentenced today to 71 months of incarceration for his role in a drug distribution operation, Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
 
Christian, 44, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base” in January 2021. Christian admitted to working with another to distribute cocaine base in April 2020 in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; the Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the West Virginia Air National Guard investigated. 

This case 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. 

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.