Joshua Kevin Oribello, a 22 year Nigerian man has been sentenced yesterday in federal district court in Detroit following a guilty plea to drug and firearms offenses, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Robert Foley, III, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Oribello, a resident of?Taylor in Michigan,?was sentenced by the Honorable Avern Cohn to 84 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
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Information presented to the court at the time of the sentencing established that in October 2010, Oribello and others conspired to distribute heroin, cocaine, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (commonly known as “ecstasy” or MDMA).?
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Oribello and several of his co-conspirators were members of, or were affiliated with, a criminal gang known as the Insane Spanish Cobras. Oribello and others agreed to transport illegal controlled substances, including heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy, from Detroit, Michigan to the Alpena, Michigan area and distribute the controlled substances in the Alpena area.?
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One of the co-conspirators, an Insane Spanish Cobras member, instructed defendant Oribello and another person affiliated with the Insane Spanish Cobras to obtain firearms for gang use and to trade controlled substances for firearms.?
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Oribello and others agreed to receive firearms from a person in the Alpena area as payment for cocaine, in lieu of currency.
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Oribello and others transported heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy supplied by gang members from Detroit to the Alpena area.?
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Between October 2 and October 25, 2010, Oribello and others sold heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy to other people in the Alpena area and during this time period, the Nigerian man made additional trips to transport heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy from Detroit to the Alpena area and to transport proceeds of illegal drug sales to another Insane Spanish Cobras gang member in Detroit.
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In late October 2010, an Insane Spanish Cobras member received six firearms that had been stolen during a burglary in the Alpena area in exchange for cocaine and took them to the residence of another gang member in Hillman, Michigan.?
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On October 25, 2010, as instructed by a Detroit-area Insane Spanish Cobras member, Oribello drove from Detroit to the Alpena/Hillman area, picked-up the gang member and the firearms, and attempted to transport them to Detroit.?
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Shortly after leaving the residence, Oribello and the gang member were intercepted and arrested by law enforcement, including members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Gang Task Force and the Michigan State Police Huron Undercover Narcotics Team.
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“Armed drug traffickers pose a danger to the communities where the operate,” McQuade said. “Sentences like this one send a message that the community will not tolerate this kind of conduct.”
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FBI Special Agent in Charge Foley stated, “”Violence in our communities can often be traced back to the illegal sale of guns and drugs. The FBI and its law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring safety for our citizens and stopping this type of criminal activity.”
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The cooperative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Gang Task Force and the Michigan State Police Huron Undercover Narcotics Team were recognized and applauded by U.S. Attorney McQuade. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Chasteen of the office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit prosecuted the case for the United States.
