US narco dealer, with Jamaican links, sentenced to 16 years

A narcotics dealer, who was arrested in the US in connection with a major drug ring in Jamaica, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

James C. McBride, 41, was sentenced on Friday in a New Jersey Court. He was one of 15 people, including five South Jersey residents, indicted in connection with the Jamaican drug ring. He pleaded guilty on October 20 to first-degree possession of  cocaine with intent to distribute.

McBride was arrested at the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey on March 15 last year, after collecting a box containing three kilograms of cocaine from another alleged ring member.

Flippa Mafia, a Jamaican dancehall entertainer, whose given name is Andrew Davis, allegedly led the organization’s drug trafficking activities from various locations in Jamaica, California and New Jersey, along with his brother Kemar Davis of Hollywood, California.

The investigation began in March 2011, when detectives and narcotics agents seized two packages from a mail facility in Marlton, New Jersey. The packages were allegedly scheduled to be shipped to Flippa Mafia and co-defendant, 33 year old Marsha G. Bernard. Each package contained four kilograms of  cocaine.

Flippa Mafia and his brother face various charges, including a first-degree charge of leading a narcotics trafficking network, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in State prison.

The indictment is pending against most of the other defendants, who face charges, including first-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine and launder money, which carries a prison sentence of  10 to 20 years.

rjrnews