Canadian-American man pleads guilty to drug conspiracy (DOJ)

Canadian-American Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

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For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York

[email protected]

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Casey Oakes, age 23, a dual citizen of Canada and the United States and a resident of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation (AMIR), pleaded guilty on August 20,2026, for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo made the announcement.

As part of his guilty plea, Oakes admitted that in 2024, he received numerous packages shipped by a co-conspirator from Florida and California at residences in and around the AMIR that contained cocaine. Oakes transported the cocaine across the St. Lawrence River by boat to Canada, where it was received by additional members of the conspiracy. The conspiracy was uncovered when one of the packages was intercepted by HSI.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone said, "For decades, law enforcement and this Office have investigated and prosecuted narcotics trafficking occurring on and through the AMIR; this case is just the tip of the iceberg. My office remains committed to stopping narcotics smuggling in and around the AMIR and we need the cooperation of Tribal leaders and law enforcement to root out anyone who facilitates the poisoning of Americans with deadly and dangerous drugs."

Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone said, "Behind this case was a calculated cross-border narcotics pipeline, with cocaine concealed in shipments from across the country and ferried by boat into Canada through the Akwesasne region. This guilty plea demonstrates the resolve of HSI and our law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal networks that exploit border communities for profit. As a co-leader of the Homeland Security Task Force, HSI Massena will continue to pursue those who place greed above public safety and bring accountability to individuals who inflict harm on our communities."

At sentencing, scheduled for December 21, 2026, Oakes faces a term of imprisonment up to life, a fine of up to $10 million, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The case is being investigated by HSI with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the New York State Police, the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, and Sûreté du Québec. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Gillis is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Buffalo comprises agents and officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Internal Revenue Service (IRS/ CID), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Customs and Border Protection/ Office of Border Patrol (CBP/ OBP), Customs and Border Protection/ Office of Field Operations (CBP/ OFO), DEA, Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), USPIS, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and Department of State/Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York.

Updated September 30, 2026