All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Hagerstown man admits to role in international drug trafficking operation

Court Judge Gavel

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – A Hagerstown, Maryland man has admitted to his role in an expansive drug trafficking conspiracy that spanned several states.

According to court documents, Daniel Inoa-Rodriguez, also known as “Danny,” 23, was heard on wiretap phone calls, talking with other known defendants about drug deliveries. One of the conversations revolved around $30,000 in drug proceeds and what to do with the cash just before Inoa-Rodriguez planned to travel to the Dominican Republic to deliver the money. Because of the intercepted communications, agents were able to seize the cash before he successfully boarded the plane at JFK Airport in March 2021. Court documents also reveal that Inoa-Rodriguez was in the back area of Top 3 Sources, a business in Hagerstown and a target in this investigation, during multiple drug transactions. The crimes occurred from August 2020 to June 2021 in Berkeley County and elsewhere.

Inoa-Rodriguez pleaded guilty today to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine Base, and Cocaine Hydrochloride.” Inoa-Rodriguez faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The FBI; U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; The Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia Air National Guard, the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative (agencies included are the West Virginia State Police, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department, Jefferson County Sherriff’s Department, Ranson Police Department, Charles Town Police Department, and Martinsburg City Police Department); West Virginia State Police; Customs and Border Protection; the Hagerstown Police Department; the National Resources Police Department; FBI-New York Safe Streets Task Force; the New York Police Department; the New Jersey State Police; the Washington County (Maryland) Drug Task Force; the Maryland State Police; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania investigated.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

Find the related case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/34-indicted-expansive-drug-trafficking-operation.

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