North Charleston man sentenced to 28 years for cocaine distribution conspiracy

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — A North Charleston man was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison after prosecutors showed evidence he had arranged for several cocaine shipments to the Charleston area.

Derrick Maurice Simpson, 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) release.

Evidence showed that in 2020, Simpson arranged shipments of kilograms of cocaine from Texas to be delivered to multiple locations in the Charleston area. Investigators learned that Simpson worked with co-conspirators to send drug proceeds to Texas, where he would arrange for cocaine shipments to be shipped back to Charleston via the United States Postal Service.

Shipments would consist of three or four packages at a time containing 1 kilo each of cocaine. Law enforcement confiscated approximately eight and a half kilos of cocaine and $195,000 in drug proceeds, said the DOJ.

Law enforcement says they believe Simpson and his co-conspirators shipped around 50 kilos of cocaine to the Charleston area.

United States District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Simpson to 336 months imprisonment with ten years of court-ordered supervision following prison release.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), the City of Charleston Police Department (CPD), the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), the Town of Summerville Police Department (SPD), the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), the Mount Pleasant Police Department (MPPD), and the South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP), said the press release.