DEA Drug Trafficking Defense Lawyers

DEA Drug Trafficking Defense Lawyers

You got contacted by the DEA. A raid. A subpoena. Or your lawyer told you you’re under federal investigation for drug trafficking. You’re terrified. Federal charges mean mandatory prison time – 5 years, 10 years, sometimes life. You don’t know what to do. You’re wondering if you should talk to the DEA, if you can beat this, if your life is over.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. Our criminal defense lawyers have over 50 years of combined experience defending clients against federal charges. We’ve defended clients against DEA investigations, we know how federal drug trafficking cases work, we understand the mandatory minimums you’re facing. This article addresses what happens next in YOUR situation – the timeline, the mandatory minimums, the choices you have – before you talk to anyone.

You Got Contacted by the DEA – Here’s What Happens in the Next 90 Days

The DEA doesn’t contact people for routine matters. They contacted you because their investigation found evidence – wiretaps, surveillance, informant statements. By the time you’re contacted, they’ve often been investigating for months, sometimes years. DEA task forces coordinate with FBI, local police, federal prosecutors – building cases with wiretap evidence, controlled buys, surveillance footage. This isn’t a misunderstanding they’re trying to clear up. This is a federal investigation, and you’re the target.

What happens in the next 30-90 days depends on where you are in their timeline. If they raided your home or business, you’re likely facing imminent charges. If you received a subpoena or target letter, you have a brief window – days, not weeks – before a federal grand jury indicts you. The grand jury process is secret. You won’t know what evidence they’re presenting. You won’t be in the room. Federal prosecutors present evidence to grand jurors, who decide whether to indict. Federal grand juries indict in over 99% of cases presented to them. This isn’t a fair hearing. This is prosecutors building their case.

After charges are filed, you’re arrested if you haven’t been already. Initial appearance before a magistrate judge. Detention hearing – this determines whether you’re held in federal custody or released on bond while awaiting trial. Federal drug trafficking charges often result in pretrial detention. Judges consider flight risk, danger to community, weight of evidence. If DEA seized drugs, cash, weapons – judges rarely grant bond. You’re looking at 6-12 months pretrial in federal detention. Discovery phase begins – government produces evidence, you see wiretap transcripts, surveillance footage, informant statements for the first time. This is when you understand what they have.

DEA Wants to Talk – Here’s What Happens If You Do (And Why You Shouldn’t)

When DEA agents contact you – at your door, at your business, through your phone – they want to interview you. They’ll say cooperation helps. They’ll imply that refusing to talk looks guilty. They’re wrong. Here’s what actually happens when you talk to the DEA without an attorney: everything you say can, and will, be used against you in federal court. Not just admissions of wrongdoing. Misremembering a date. Contradicting something they have on wiretap. Failing to mention a detail they later discover. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, making a false statement to federal agents is a separate federal crime carrying up to five years in prison. Even if you’re innocent of drug trafficking, talking to DEA without an attorney creates additional charges.

The Fifth Amendment protects you against self-incrimination. It isn’t evidence of guilt – it’s a Constitutional right that exists precisely for moments when government pressure is highest. When the DEA shows up with a warrant, when federal prosecutors are building a case, when your freedom is on the line – that’s when your Fifth Amendment protection matters most. We’ve defended clients in federal drug cases, we’ve seen what happens when people think cooperating early will help. It doesn’t. Not without an attorney negotiating the terms. DEA agents are skilled interrogators. They’re not there to “clear things up.” They’re there to get statements they can use to convict you.

Hiring a federal criminal defense attorney immediately serves multiple purposes. Your attorney can negotiate cooperation terms if cooperation makes strategic sense – and sometimes it does, when you have information about higher-level traffickers and the government’s case against you is strong. But cooperation without attorney guidance means giving up everything – admitting guilt, waiving Fifth Amendment rights, providing testimony – without knowing what you’re getting in return. Substantial assistance cooperation under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 5K1.1 requires a formal motion by federal prosecutors. Your attorney negotiates this. You don’t get below mandatory minimums without that motion. Talking to DEA agents without negotiating first doesn’t earn you cooperation credit. It builds their case.

Federal Drug Trafficking – What You’re Actually Facing (Mandatory Minimums)

Federal prosecutors talk about “up to life imprisonment” for drug trafficking. Those are statutory maximums. What you’re actually facing are mandatory minimums – minimum prison sentences federal judges MUST impose, regardless of circumstances. Under 21 U.S.C. § 841, drug type and quantity determine mandatory minimums. 100-999 grams of heroin triggers a 5-year mandatory minimum. 1 kilogram or more triggers 10 years. 500-4,999 grams of cocaine: 5 years minimum. 5 kilograms or more: 10 years minimum. Methamphetamine follows similar thresholds – 5-49 grams of actual meth triggers 5 years, 50 grams or more triggers 10 years.

These aren’t suggestions. Federal judges have no discretion to sentence below mandatory minimums unless the government files a substantial assistance motion. If you’re convicted of trafficking 1 kilogram of heroin, the judge can sentence you to 10 years, 15 years, 20 years – but not 9 years, regardless of whether you’re a first-time offender, regardless of mitigating circumstances. The U.S. Sentencing Commission publishes guidelines calculating precise sentencing ranges based on drug quantity, your criminal history, your role in the offense. Federal judges consult these guidelines. In 2025, proposed amendments updated the Drug Quantity Table, added trafficking function reductions, revised methamphetamine purity distinctions. Some amendments are retroactive – prisoners serving sentences under old guidelines can petition for reductions.

Beyond prison time, federal drug convictions carry additional consequences. Asset forfeiture: cars, homes, bank accounts – anything purchased with drug proceeds or used to facilitate trafficking gets seized. Supervised release after prison: typically 4-8 years of monitoring, drug testing, employment restrictions. Loss of federal benefits: gun rights, voting rights in some states, professional licenses. Federal convictions don’t disappear. You serve approximately 85% of your sentence with good behavior – there’s no parole in the federal system.

Can You Win a Federal Drug Case? – What the 10% Who Beat It Did

Federal conviction rate exceeds 90% at trial. That’s the reality. By the time DEA files charges, they have wiretaps, surveillance, informant testimony, physical evidence. Federal prosecutors don’t file weak cases – they’ve been building evidence for months or years before indicting. But that 90% conviction rate means 10% win. What did they do differently? They had strong defenses, aggressive attorneys, and often – evidence that should never have been admissible in the first place.

Fourth Amendment violations suppress evidence. If DEA obtained wiretaps without proper probable cause, if they conducted searches without valid warrants, if they seized evidence illegally – your attorney can file motions to suppress. Federal courts scrutinize warrant applications. If the affidavit supporting the wiretap application contained false statements, if the search exceeded the scope of the warrant, if DEA violated knock-and-announce requirements – evidence gets excluded. We’ve seen federal drug cases collapse when key evidence gets suppressed. Without the wiretaps, without the drugs seized in the illegal search, prosecutors can’t prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lack of knowledge and constructive possession challenges work when drugs were found in locations you don’t control. If drugs were in a car you were riding in, if they were in a shared apartment, if there’s no evidence you knew they were there – prosecutors have to prove you knowingly possessed them. Fingerprints, DNA, surveillance showing you handling the drugs, wiretaps discussing the drugs – without this evidence, constructive possession cases become hard to prove. Entrapment defenses arise when government informants induced conduct you wouldn’t have committed otherwise. DEA uses informants extensively. If the informant pressured you, if the idea originated with law enforcement, if you had no predisposition to traffic drugs – entrapment becomes viable.

Substantial assistance cooperation remains the most common path to reduced sentences. If you provide information leading to arrests and prosecutions of other traffickers, if you testify truthfully at their trials, federal prosecutors can file a § 5K1.1 motion allowing the judge to sentence below mandatory minimums. This is the only mechanism for departing below the mandatory floor. Cooperation requires admitting guilt first. You can’t cooperate and maintain innocence. Your attorney negotiates the cooperation agreement – what information you provide, what testimony you give, what sentence reduction you’re promised. Safety concerns are real. Testifying against co-defendants creates risks. But for defendants facing 10-year mandatory minimums with strong government cases, cooperation credit can reduce exposure to 3-5 years.

Plea versus trial is the final decision. 95% of federal drug cases end in plea agreements. Why? Because conviction rate at trial exceeds 90%, and trial convictions result in higher sentences than plea agreements. If you plead guilty, you typically receive a 3-level reduction for “acceptance of responsibility” – this can reduce a guideline range from 10-12 years to 7-9 years. If you go to trial and lose, you forfeit that reduction. Plea agreements cap your exposure – prosecutors recommend specific sentencing ranges, judges typically follow recommendations. Trial convictions leave you facing the full guideline range with no cooperation credit, no acceptance reduction. It’s a calculated risk. Your attorney evaluates the strength of government’s case, the viability of suppression motions, the likelihood of acquittal. Sometimes going to trial makes sense – when evidence is weak, when Fourth Amendment violations are clear, when you’re actually innocent. Most times, negotiating the best possible plea agreement protects you better than rolling the dice at trial.

At Spodek Law Group, our criminal defense attorneys have defended federal drug trafficking cases. We’ve represented clients facing DEA investigations, we understand mandatory minimums, we know how federal prosecutors build these cases. We’ve handled high-profile federal cases – the kind that make national news, the kind involving clients like Anna Delvey, Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct allegations, cases that others said were unwinnable. Our managing partner, Todd Spodek, is a second-generation attorney with many, many, years of experience handling federal criminal defense. He’s been featured on major media outlets – NY Post, Newsweek, Fox 5, Business Insider – because of the cases he’s handled.

Unlike other law firms who are more focused on their relationship with prosecutors and judges, Spodek Law Group owes loyalty to only YOU. We fight to protect your Constitutional rights. Your Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Your Fourth Amendment protection against illegal searches. Federal drug trafficking charges carry mandatory minimums that eliminate judicial discretion – but strong defense can suppress evidence, negotiate cooperation credit, reduce your exposure. We are available 24/7 to help you understand your situation.

Your next move matters. Before you talk to the DEA, before you respond to a subpoena, before you make any statements – call someone who defends federal drug trafficking cases. We’re available 24/7 at 212-300-5196. The window for protecting your rights closes fast. The Fifth Amendment protects you, but only if you invoke it. The difference between 10 years in federal prison and negotiating cooperation credit often comes down to what you do in the next 24 hours.