Beaufort man sent to federal prison for selling drugs from Mexican cartel
A Beaufort man was sent to federal prison after distributing multiple pounds of drugs that originated from a Mexican cartel, officials say.
Michael Thomas Martin, 54, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by three years of court-ordered supervision, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.
Martin was arrested last year after agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration watched Martin complete a drug deal in an area of North Charleston known for narcotics trafficking, according to the attorney’s office.
The DEA agents pulled Martin over and found a magnetic box “hidden in the engine compartment” with 56 grams of crystal meth. In a later search of his home, investigators found more crystal meth along with marijuana, fentanyl and firearm ammunition.
Prosecutors said Martin was sent multiple pounds of methamphetamine through the mail and used “sophisticated packing methods” to send and receive the drugs. The shipments came from a Mexican cartel and moved from Tucson to Phoenix before reaching Martin in South Carolina, the attorney’s office said.
Court records show Martin was arrested in June 2024 on three federal charges, including possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. He pleaded not guilty and was denied bond.
Charleston-based attorney Christopher Adams, who represented Martin, said his client applied to an in-patient drug program in Beaufort while incarcerated in Charleston County.
Although his application for participating in the program was denied, Matin “continued to take steps to battle his addiction” and completed every substance abuse awareness program offered at the Charleston County jail, Adams wrote in a court filing. Adams had asked the judge to impose a 30-month prison term, the “median” sentence for similar cases.
The two-and-a-half years in prison would be an “adequate and sufficient sentence for this 54-year-old addict who has never been to prison,” Adams wrote in a sentencing memorandum in July.
As part of Martin’s plea agreement, his two other federal charges were dismissed prior to his sentencing on Thursday.
