A 34-year-old Shelby Township man, Martaze Davis, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison today for trafficking methamphetamine and laundering drug proceeds.
Beck was joined in the announcement by Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Charles E. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Detroit Field Division.
Davis was a leader in a Detroit gang, the 42 Hustle Boys. The 42 Hustle Boys and a rival gang, the Seven Mile Bloods, engaged in a longstanding and deadly feud.
This investigation and prosecution, which began in 2023, focused on Davis’s leadership of a drug conspiracy that sent members to California to purchase methamphetamine brought into the United States from Mexico and transport it across the United States for distribution in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
On October 24, 2023, Davis and codefendant Alexander Polanco, 28, conspired to load a rental car occupied by codefendants Taneeya Richard, 25, and Dejon Howard-Henderson, 24, with 38.9 kilograms of methamphetamine.
The following day, officers stopped the rental car in Texas and seized the methamphetamine. Davis also laundered drug proceeds through his personal and business bank accounts, intending to conceal the nature and source of the proceeds.
“Our office vigorously pursues drug traffickers, including gang leaders and members, who push dangerous drugs like methamphetamine into our communities with indifference to the tragedy it inflicts. Thanks to the outstanding teamwork among the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Attorney’s Office, a dangerous drug trafficker and money launderer has been removed from our streets,” stated Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck.
“Bringing members of violent street gangs to justice is one of our top operational priorities in the DEA Detroit Division. Mr. Davis and his 42 Hustle Boys co-conspirators are responsible for fueling untold suffering by funneling massive amounts of methamphetamine into areas already hard-hit by the opioid crisis. Today’s sentence sends another clear message to drug trafficking organizations that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated and will be met with consequences,” said Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Today’s sentencing of Martaze Davis represents a significant victory in our ongoing fight against organized crime and drug trafficking in Detroit,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office.
Gibson added, “This case underscores the powerful collaboration between the FBI, DEA, and Detroit’s IRS Criminal Division. Together, we remain steadfast in our mission to disrupt criminal networks, dismantle money laundering operations, and protect our communities.
“The removal of Mr. Davis, a dangerous Detroit gang leader, from the streets is a pivotal step in safeguarding Michigan and ensuring the safety of all its residents. Our combined efforts reflect our unwavering commitment to keeping Detroit and the surrounding areas free from criminal activity.”
“The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs. Without these ill-gotten gains, the traffickers could not finance their organizations,” said Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “We will continue to be relentless in our mission to dismantle drug trafficking organizations and bring the criminals who run them to justice.”
