A Maine man associated with a nationwide drug trafficking ring has been sentenced to over a decade in prison. Emil Dzabiev, 44, from Scarborough, Maine, received the sentence following his plea of guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to a report from the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts, Dzabiev was handed 121 months behind bars by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, with an additional three years of supervised release after his prison term.
Arrested in July 2021, Dzabiev—together with seven others—found themselves ensnared by federal authorities. In a superseding indictment issued in September 2021, another three defendants were charged. Over 160 pounds of methamphetamine, assorted firearms, and thousands of rounds of ammunition were seized during the investigation. After being stopped in May 2021, Dzabiev had roughly 455 grams of meth on his person, which were 100% pure, after meeting with a significant trafficker, Reshat Alkayisi.
As per the U.S. Attorney's Office statement, Alkayisi, identified as a major methamphetamine trafficker distributing large quantities across New England, had already pled guilty in April and was sentenced this past September to 23 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Among those indicted, Dzabiev is the eighth defendant to be sentenced, with the remaining defendants awaiting their own sentencings.
The efforts to dismantle this drug operation were a combined force of agencies including the FBI Boston Division, DEA New England Field Division, and an array of local police departments, among other law enforcement agencies. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea Porter and Katherine Ferguson leading the prosecution. This case falls under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces initiative, which strategically targets high-level criminal organizations impacting the U.S. through a multi-agency approach rooted in intelligence-driven prosecution.
