A Tampa man, identified as Zecki Halum, age 40, has entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a large quantity of marijuana, the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida reported. The crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison, with the potential to extend up to 40 years.
Official records state that Halum, along with several co-conspirators, was apprehended in an operation dating back to August 2009, when the DEA was tipped off regarding a recreational vehicle (RV) hauling about 200 pounds of marijuana from Arizona to Florida. Notably, upon arriving in Tampa, co-conspirator Dale Wetherholt was met by another vehicle with Halum as the passenger. Both parties then proceeded to parking lots—in a convenience store and subsequently a church in Crystal Springs—where law enforcement moved in for arrest. During the encounter, officers found over 100 kilograms of the illicit substance inside the RV. according to the Department of Justice.
The court had initially indicted Halum in September of 2009, but following a violation of his pretrial release conditions in February 2010, he failed to appear in court, sparking a lengthy period on the run until his arrest in March of 2024. This chapter came to a close with his recent guilty plea, details of which were shared on July 3rd by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
His co-conspirator, Dale Wetherholt, had already faced justice, pleading guilty to the a similar offense in 2009 and receiving a 30-month sentence in federal prison the following year. The DEA led the investigation into this drug trafficking operation, with Assistant United States Attorneys Jeff Chang and Kelley Howard Allen handling the prosecution.
