Kanawha County man pleads guilty to role in methamphetamine trafficking organization

BLUEFIELD, WV (WVNS) — A Kanawha County man pleaded guilty to a role in a methamphetamine trafficking organization.

35-year-old Antonio Lamar Jeffries, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Jeffries plotted with other people to distribute methamphetamine between November 2022 and March 22, 2023. Not only did Jeffries admit that he played a key role in a drug trafficking organization based in the Charleston area of Kanawha County, he revealed that on February 4, 2023, he made plans for a co-conspirator to go to Mercer Mall in Bluefield, West Virginia to receive methamphetamine from a supplier.

Jeffries set up the meeting with a cell phone, before giving the co-conspirator money that would be exchanged for the methamphetamine, and told the co-conspirator where they would meet the supplier in Bluefield.

The co-conspirator received the methamphetamine in exchange for the money, and when they were returning to Charleston, law enforcement officers performed a traffic stop on the car.

During the traffic stop, around 3.1 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized by law enforcement officers. Jeffries revealed that he planned to distribute some of the methamphetamine, and that the co-conspirator would keep what was left.

Jeffries’ sentencing is scheduled for October 7, 2024, and he faces at least 15 years to life in prison, a minimum of ten years of parole, and a $20 million fine.

Jeffries is one of 32 people charged because of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, which is a drug trafficking investigation that resulted in the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. More than 400 pounds of methamphetamine, 40 pounds of cocaine, three pounds of fentanyl, 19 guns, and $935,000 in cash were seized by law enforcement.

Of the 32 people charged as a part of the investigation, Jeffries is one of 28 defendants who pleaded guilty.

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