The leaders of a large scale nationwide cocaine trafficking ring known as the Black Mafia Family were sentenced in Detroit federal court today to 30 years in prison. Brothers Terry Flenory, 38 of Los Angeles and Demetrius Flenory, 40, of Atlanta, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn.

The brothers, formerly of southwest Detroit, pleaded guilty to operating a continuing criminal enterprise involving the high volume distribution of cocaine throughout the U.S. from 1990 through 2005.

Authorities said they started operating in Detroit in the early 1990s and eventually extended their activities to Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, California and Texas. They used vehicles equipped with hidden compartments to transport cocaine and cash.

Since 2000, authorities have seized more than 476 kilograms of cocaine and $5 million in cash. Members of the ring used drug proceeds to buy luxury cars, real estate and jewelry. They also purchased winning Michigan lottery tickets from the real winners to conceal the source of income.

Some 65 people have been indicted in the case. Most have pleaded guilty and half have been sentenced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The government has seized more than $19 million in assets from ring members, including 13 homes, 35 vehicles, over $5 million in cash, and millions of dollars worth of jewelry.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dawn Ison, Michael Leibson and Julie Beck.

The best-known defendant in the case is celebrity Manhattan jeweler Jacob Arabov, 43, who was sentenced in Detroit in June to 2-1/2 years in prison and fined $50,000 for lying to federal agents about the true ownership of jewelry seized from the ring.

via Detroit Free Press/Black Vibes