OXFORD, Miss.  – A Clarksdale man, the final defendant in a multi-defendant conspiracy, has been sentenced to 400 months in federal prison resulting from his role in a murder and heroin distribution conspiracy in the Northern District of Mississippi. Derrick Jones was sentenced for his crimes in United States District Court Thursday afternoon.

Multiple fatal opioid overdoses and hospitalizations in the Mississippi Delta spurred an investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the United States Attorney’s Office. This investigation unveiled a large heroin and cocaine trafficking organization, operating predominately in Coahoma County, Mississippi. This joint investigation involved numerous search warrants, arrests, and convictions. In all, twelve defendants were sentenced in federal court for their roles in this drug trafficking conspiracy.

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