Drug Courier Sentenced In Federal Court

MOBILE, AL - A Lexington, Mississippi, man was sentenced on July 18, 2024, to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

According to court documents, Morris Alan Morgan, 39, was a courier for Darrin J. Southall, a notorious and prolific drug distributor who operated in Mobile, Alabama, since 2016. Southall previously pled guilty to operating a continuing criminal enterprise, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to launder drug money, and was sentenced in 2022 to 35 years' imprisonment in federal prison. Morgan was hired by Southall to transport drug money and drugs concealed in compartments in various vehicles Southall owned back and forth between Mobile and Houston, Texas. Morgan admitted responsibility for smuggling 30 kilograms of cocaine in shipments for Southall during early 2021.

Morgan pled guilty to the charges in March of 2023. United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer imposed the 60-month sentence and ordered that Morgan will serve a term of five years' supervised release when he completes his prison time. Morgan will be subject to testing and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, and he is subject to a search of his person and premises upon reasonable suspicion that he has violated the terms of his supervision. No fine was imposed in the case, but Morgan was ordered to pay $100 in special mandatory assessments.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The Mobile Police Department, the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Saraland Police Department, the St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff's Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.