Rapper Fetty Wap sentenced to six years in prison for dr¥g trafficking

Popular rapper, Fetty WAP, was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday for operating a cross-country dr¥g trafficking operation.

The 31-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Willie Junior Maxwell II, pleaded guilty in August to a conspiracy dr¥g charge, admitting to participating in a large-scale scheme trafficking of at least 500g or more of coc@ine. The charge carries a minimum five-year prison sentence.

Fetty Wap was initially arrested in October 2021 and charged, along with five co-defendants, with conspiring to smuggle more than 100kg (220lbs) of h£roin, fentanyl and crack coc@ine from the west coast to Long Island from June 2019 through June 2020. As part of the investigation, police seized $1.5 million in cash and multiple w£apons from a series of homes.

Maxwell re-entered custody in August 2022 after a judge revoked his $500,000 bail, secured by property he owns in Georgia, after the rapper allegedly held up a fir£arm and thr£at£ned to k#ll a man in a 2021 FaceTime call, which violated the terms of his pre-trial release.

The rapper pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances, the top charge in an indictment against him, admitting that he participated in a massive dr¥g trafficking racket. The plea, which pertained only to coc@ine, spared him from a potential life sentence if he had been convicted on all the charges he faced.

Prosecutors had argued for a longer term, claiming that Maxwell had used his fame to “glamorize the dr¥g trade” while making millions from his music. “Young people who admire the defendant and are considering selling dr¥gs need to be sent a message that selling dr¥gs is not a glamorous lifestyle and, if they participate in that trade, they will receive lengthy prison sentences,” wrote Breon Peace, US attorney for the eastern district of New York, in a letter to the judge recommending a sentence of seven to nine years.

During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Maxwell expressed remorse for his actions. “I h¥rt my community, people who look up to me,” he said. “My family and myself. I am truly sorry for any p@in I caused.”