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Press Release

Beckley man sentenced on Federal drug charge

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto announced that a Beckley man was sentenced today in federal court to a year and three months in prison for a drug crime.

Michael Leigh Benko, 33, previously pleaded guilty in July of 2015 to using a telephone to facilitate a drug deal. Benko admitted that on January 13, 2015, he used a cell phone to coordinate the sale of oxycodone to a confidential informant working with law enforcement authorities. 

The case was investigated by the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit. The defendant was sentenced by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger. 

This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District. 

Updated January 7, 2016

Topic
Drug Trafficking