A Norfolk resident has been sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine with intent to distribute.
“Antonio Saunders has learned that kilogram-level cocaine shipments will not enter the Commonwealth of Virginia without swift and certain consequences,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Our vigilance is unwavering, and we will hold drug traffickers accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Court documents indicate that in September 2021, law enforcement identified two parcels suspected of containing narcotics being shipped from Texas to Virginia. Authorities intercepted one package and found it contained 2.44 pounds of cocaine. The second parcel was allowed to continue on its route to an address in Norfolk.
On September 9, 2021, after the parcel was delivered and left at the residence’s front porch, Antonio Deshaka Saunders, age 43, retrieved it and placed it into a vehicle before attempting to leave. Investigators stopped him during a traffic stop and recovered the package, which held one kilogram of cocaine.
The sentencing announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Halligan; Christopher Heck, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock prosecuted the case.
Related court documents can be accessed through the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or via PACER by searching Case No. 2:25-cr-72.
