CLARKSBURG, WV—Raheem Cuffee, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted of heroin trafficking in federal court, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.

Cuffee was among 21 individuals charged in a 65-count federal indictment in November 2014. The indictment disrupted a drug distribution operation designed to transport large quantities of heroin and prescription painkillers across state lines from Pennsylvania into West Virginia for redistribution and sale. The leader of the operation, Juwan Woods, 32, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pled guilty in April 2015 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Oxycodone within 1000 feet of a Protected Location.” Woods was sentenced to 87 months in prison in August 2015.

Specifically, Cuffee sold heroin near Wiles Hill Playground in April 2014 in Monongalia County, West Virginia. He pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Heroin within 1,000 feet of a Protected Location.” He faces between one and 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.