A Picayune man was sentenced to 159 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Corrie Montrell Hinton, 46, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.

According to court records, in 2015, an investigation began into a large-scale drug trafficking organization in Picayune.

In 2019, DEA agents in Imperial County California along with DEA agents in Gulfport conducted an undercover purchase of five pounds of methamphetamine and arrested two drug traffickers in Riverside County California. One of those traffickers was identified as a source of supply for a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Picayune.

Cellphones belonging to one of the traffickers yielded communication between a trafficker and Corrie Montrell Hinton involving drug transactions, parcels, and account numbers for money transfers.

Hinton pleaded guilty on October 4, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor- led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.