HUNTINGTON, WV—A Detroit man who conspired with others to distribute heroin, cocaine base, and oxycodone in Huntington, West Virginia pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Cecil Rice, 34, pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington to possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Between August 2008 and September 2013, Rice participated with others in the transportation of heroin, cocaine base, and oxycodone from Detroit to Huntington for distribution. Rice and his co-conspirators established multiple residences in the Huntington to store, prepare, and distribute drugs.

On September 19, 2013, Rice was arrested after leaving a motel located on 16th Street Road in Huntington. At the time of his arrest, officers found two packs of heroin concealed in Rice’s mouth. A search of Rice’s motel room uncovered additional heroin and cocaine base.

Rice faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on August 11, 2014.

The FBI Huntington Violent Crimes Drug Task Force and the Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as 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 opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.