Jury Convicts Ohio Men For Conspiring To Distribute More Than Five Kilograms Of Cocaine

Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury has found Virgil Cooper (42, Cleveland, OH) and Angelo Jordan (49, Euclid, OH) guilty of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and attempting to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Each faces a minimum penalty 15 years' imprisonment, due to prior serious drug or violent felonies, and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The sentencing hearings have not yet been set.

According to testimony and evidence presented during the four-day trial, Cooper established contact with a former federal prison cellmate who had been deported to his native country of Colombia after serving his sentence. Cooper wanted to purchase multiple kilograms of cocaine directly from Colombia at a discount rate. The former cellmate introduced Cooper to a Drug Enforcement Administration confidential source who helped arrange for a viewing of 10 kilograms of cocaine with undercover officers in Tampa in February 2023. Because Cooper was still serving the remainder of his sentence in a halfway house, he sent his friend, Jordan, to view the cocaine. After repeated communications and Cooper's release from the halfway house, Cooper and Jordan traveled from Cleveland to Tampa on August 3, 2023, to deliver a down payment of $120,000 for an initial 30 kilograms of cocaine, and they were arrested.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney David Rehfuss and Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs, Jr.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.