Trucking Company Was A Front For A Drug Ring

Imagine taking a load from your carrier to transport a Jeep, but unbeknownst to you, you’re actually transporting cocaine; lots of it.  How about transporting 1.5 TONS of cocaine over the span of 6 years?  That’s what the U.S. Attorney Office has accused a Norfolk, Virginia carrier of doing.

The carrier’s owner, Percy James Tucker, says he was taken for a ride, himself.  He maintains he was unaware his trucking companies were transporting drugs; however, the U.S. District Court of Norfolk disagrees. They maintain Tucker operated the trucking companies Hassell Trucking, Bragg Trucking and D&T Trucking as a front for a drug ring.

According to court documents, Tucker and his business partners,  David E. Bragg Jr. and Jovan D. Hassell,  transported “large amounts of cocaine and marijuana in eastern Virginia. The drugs – most of which were brought to Virginia from Atlanta and El Paso, Texas – had an estimated wholesale value of at least $33 million,” Pilot Online reported.

In court, Tucker’s business partners turned on him and testified that Tucker was aware of what was being transported, and  that Tucker often helped load the drugs onto the truck and was aware of what he was transporting.

U.S. Attorney Sherrie S. Capotosto said Tucker also “helped Bragg and Hassell set up trucking companies to help turn their illicit drug income into legitimate, taxable income. The men would use drug money to buy trucks and occasionally pay their payroll, she said,” the site reported.

The court agreed, Tucker was convicted of helping launder money for a multi-million dollar drug ring.

The case will move on to sentencing in the months to come.