17 convictions in Norfolk drug trafficking conspiracy investigation

NORFOLK, Virginia – Seventeen members of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) have pleaded guilty to their roles in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.

According to court documents, the main conspirators in the DTO were 47-year-old Corey Wright of Chesapeake and 48-year-old Malik Dillard, aka “Mayo,” of Virginia Beach.

Sometime between February 2021 and October 2023, Wright and Dillard obtained methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl from out-of-state sources and shipped them in wholesale quantities to Virginia for further distribution.

Prosecutors said Wright and Dillard then delivered the substances to several mid-level dealers who agreed to use their homes to receive, store and process the drugs. These mid-level dealers included Hampton Roads natives, a North Carolina native and a Haitian native.

As part of the conspiracy, California suppliers sent Wright packages containing narcotics hidden in stuffed animals, and he distributed fentanyl in the form of pressed, counterfeit Roxicodone prescription pills.

The investigation lasted over two years and was a collaborative effort by special agents, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) officers, detectives, investigators, officers, informants and other personnel who sifted through thousands of hours of phone calls and text messages to identify and dismantle this large network of narcotics traffickers.

Wright – who was previously convicted in U.S. District Court in Alexandria of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine – and Dillard pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess methamphetamine with intent to manufacture and distribute.

Wright also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and fentanyl with intent to manufacture and distribute, while Dillard also pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine.

On February 2, Dillard was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Sentencing for Wright is scheduled for November 1. He faces a minimum sentence of ten years, possibly life imprisonment.

A federal district judge will determine the different penalties for the mid-level suppliers involved in the case – many of whom face similar charges – after considering U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

This effort was part of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.