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Virginia Federal Drug Pre-Arrest Investigations

Whether or not there is an extensive investigation leading up to a federal drug arrest will depend on the specific facts and circumstances of the case. Generally, a person indicted in Federal Court is always going to be the subject of an extensive investigation, because the only way that a person can be indicted in Federal Court is by the use of a grand jury which must hear enough evidence from investigators.

With that said, if a person is arrested on the street for any observed drug behavior, it is not necessarily the case that an extensive investigation preceded that arrest. For example, if police are monitoring a place they believe is used for drug activity and they witness a drug transaction take place, then they will likely arrest that individual on the spot as opposed to conducting an extensive investigation. Regardless, both types of federal drug investigations in Virginia can lead to serious charges and therefore warrant contact with a federal drug attorney.

Length of Federal Drug Investigations

The length of a federal drug investigation depends on the case. If the Federal Government believes they have stumbled upon a significant, organized ring of drug distribution, it is possible that the investigation could take months or years to figure out all of the players and get enough evidence against enough people to successfully prosecute the entire drug ring.

In these cases the government will want to make sure they have enough evidence on everybody in the conspiracy before they blow it open, because once they blow a conspiracy open, everybody who is not arrested or indicted is going to disappear into hiding. For that reason, major drug investigations can take a very long time.

Online Investigations

It is easy for law enforcement agencies to get online activity information, because all they need to do is get a search warrant, and to get a search warrant they just need to show probable cause that some criminal activity is afoot. Also, because of the internet, it is not at all difficult for the government to figure out what is going on with someone’s computer once they execute a search warrant for that computer.

Dealing With An Investigation

There are two very important steps to dealing with a federal investigation involving drugs. First, it is important to realize there is no obligation to ever talk to a government official about potential charges against them. If the government is investigating someone, that individual’s best bet is to avoid any conversations with a government official until they have spoken to an attorney first.

The second step is to hire a lawyer with experience dealing with federal drug investigations so that the person can immediately begin conversations with the government to try to mitigate whatever evidence they think they might have against that person.

Steps A Federal Drug Attorney Can Take in Court

The longer an investigation lasts, the more opportunity exists for a defense attorney to examine the processes used by the government to develop their evidence and to challenge things that might be questionable under the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment guarantees a person’s right against unreasonable searches and seizures. This includes protected phone conversations. If the government went to great lengths to try to acquire information against someone, those lengths can be challenged in court by an attorney.