Former Roc-A-Fella records CEO Kareem “Biggs” Burke, 38, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal drug charges, admitting he plotted to sell more than 100 kilograms of marijuana in a drug trafficking ring that spanned across the country.
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Burke admitted his guilt before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan yesterday, pleading guilty to a single count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.
As a result of the plea, Burke faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 18.
Under his plea agreement, Burke is also required to forfeit $660,000, his residence, $15,000 in cash that was seized from his home when he was arrested last year, and his 2010 BMW.
Burke was among more than 50 people who were arrested in late 2010 for their alleged membership in three separate but interconnected marijuana trafficking cells that distributed drugs from South Florida to New York and New Jersey.
The 18-month investigation, dubbed “Operation Green Venom,” was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations directorate and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from police agencies in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Maryland and North Carolina.
