Michigan man sentenced to probation in multi-state drug trafficking operation

A Westland, Michigan, man accused of being involved in a multi-state drug trafficking ring has been sentenced to three years of probation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Roy Brown, 57, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine between August 2023 and August 2024. He is ordered to serve the first 30 days of his probation on home detention.

Brown was among 19 people from Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio who were charged in 2024 for their alleged participation in a drug trafficking organization. Of those 19 people, eight were from Michigan.

Federal officials say the suspects distributed drugs to dealers, with some of the suspects traveling between New Castle, Pennsylvania and Detroit. Federal prosecutors say Brown specifically assisted with cocaine trafficking in Detroit.  

"This conspiracy involved a tight-knit network of family and friends—many of whom previously have been convicted of felony drug and firearms crimes—who allegedly trafficked large quantities of lethal narcotics, like fentanyl and heroin, between Detroit and Western Pennsylvania, supplying them to other dealers along the way," said then-U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan of the Western District of Pennsylvania in 2024. 

"Dismantling large-scale drug-trafficking organizations in order to keep our communities safe is at the center of what our office does, and we could not accomplish this critical mission without the support of the public and the strength of our partnerships at all levels of law enforcement here in Pennsylvania and across the country."