Columbia, South Carolina — Interim United States District Attorney for the District of South Carolina, M. Rhett DeHart, announced today that the Columbia Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recognized United States Attorney Attorney Benjamin Garner for his work in the lawsuit against nearly 100 members of violent street gangs from a major cocaine and crack trafficking conspiracy operating in Midlands, South Carolina.
“The work of United States Attorney Attorney Benjamin Garner, as well as the support of US Attorney Attorney Jane Taylor and administrative legal expert Shana Greenway, in the prosecution ‘The Movement’ represent the best of our office,” said the Attorney General. general practitioner DeHart. “The ‘The Movement’ case also highlights the incredible collaborative efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to make our communities safer and in better places.”
After many drug-related shootings in a confined area prompted the Sumter Police Department to connect a group of individuals to a gang operation in the area known as “The Movement”, federal assistance was requested. Through the collaboration of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, more than a dozen cocaine suppliers for drug traffickers in the area have been arrested and found guilty of federal drug charges. The investigation led to the arrest of more than three dozen individuals and the seizure of nearly 20 pounds of cocaine and $ 9 million in drug money, followed by the prosecution of another thirty-eight defendants. In total, federal charges were made against 91 defendants for drug and firearm offenses in the “The Movement” case.
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