Grandview man pleads guilty to $900,000 drug trafficking conspiracy

A Grandview, Missouri, man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute at least 18 kilograms of cocaine.

Anthony D. Harris, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

By pleading guilty, Harris admitted to distributing at least 18 kilograms of cocaine between 2019 and 2022. Harris, who obtained his cocaine from sources across the country, made dozens of trips to Texas to obtain cocaine for distribution in the Kansas City metropolitan area. He made 38 plane trips to Houston, Texas, to obtain cocaine, then rented a vehicle to return and distribute the cocaine to co-conspirators in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Harris had two bank accounts that facilitated his drug dealing. He deposited a total of $443,920 into bank accounts during that time, including $308,472 in cash.

Harris also gambled with his drug dealing earnings. Records from several casinos in the Kansas City area and Las Vegas, Nevada, revealed that from 2019 to 2021, Harris banked a total of $705,244 and banked a total of $646,108.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Harris must forfeit to the government a monetary judgment of up to $887,600, based on his drug liability, as determined by the court. This sum, in total, was obtained through the drug trafficking conspiracy, based on an average street price of $1,400 per ounce of cocaine, $30 per pill (approximately 0.1 grams) of fentanyl and $200 per ounce of marijuana.

Harris is one of 29 defendants charged in the case. More than 200 law enforcement agents participated in an operation in March 2022 which resulted in the arrest of 25 of the 26 defendants initially charged. Officers seized 27 firearms, 1,877 rounds of ammunition, more than 11.1 kilograms of marijuana, 300.9 grams of cocaine, 278.91 grams of other illegal drugs and $34,439 in cash. Harris, who was among three defendants charged in a superseding indictment, was arrested on January 27, 2023.

Under federal law, Harris is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole and up to 40 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew A. Moeder and Stephanie C. Bradshaw. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kansas City, Mo. Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, Independence , in Missouri, Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Buchanan County, Missouri, Sheriff's Department, Johnson County, Kan., Sheriff's Department and St. Joseph, Missouri Police Department.

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