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We provide specialized winterization services to safeguard your pool during the off-season, and when spring arrives, we handle the thorough opening process.
Drug trafficking charges represent the highest level of drug offenses under Missouri law. These cases are not treated as personal use, possession, or even ordinary distribution. They are prosecuted as large-scale drug crimes with mandatory prison exposure, aggressive charging decisions, and extremely limited sentencing flexibility.
Many people charged with drug trafficking never considered themselves traffickers. These cases often arise from traffic stops, vehicle searches, or multi-agency investigations where quantity alone triggers trafficking charges, even when there is no allegation of an ongoing drug operation.
Once charged, drug trafficking cases move quickly and carry life-altering consequences. Early legal intervention is critical.
Drug trafficking cases are fundamentally different from possession and intent to deliver cases. Prosecutors approach them with the assumption that incarceration is required and that the case must be resolved through a felony conviction.
Attorney Thomas Kissell has defended serious felony drug cases across Missouri, including trafficking allegations stemming from traffic stops, highway interdiction efforts, and multi-defendant investigations. These cases often turn on constitutional issues, weight calculations, chain of custody, and whether law enforcement can lawfully attribute drugs to the accused.
How the case is challenged early often determines whether mandatory prison time can be avoided.
RSMo 579.065
Drug trafficking offenses in Missouri are governed by Section 579.065 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. This statute creates two primary trafficking offenses: Trafficking Drugs in the First Degree and Trafficking Drugs in the Second Degree.
Unlike possession or distribution statutes, trafficking offenses are based primarily on quantity, not intent. The statute establishes specific weight thresholds that automatically elevate a case to trafficking, regardless of whether there is evidence of sales or distribution activity.
RSMo 579.065.2
Trafficking in the Second Degree applies when a person knowingly possesses, distributes, manufactures, or brings into Missouri certain controlled substances in quantities that meet statutory thresholds.
These thresholds vary by substance and include drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and other controlled substances.
Second degree trafficking is a serious felony offense and is punished far more harshly than possession or intent to deliver.
RSMo 579.065.1
Trafficking in the First Degree applies when the quantity involved exceeds higher statutory thresholds or when aggravating circumstances are present.
These cases are treated as the most severe drug offenses under Missouri law. Prosecutors pursue lengthy prison sentences, and courts have extremely limited discretion at sentencing.
First degree trafficking charges often arise from highway interdiction stops, large vehicle seizures, or coordinated investigations.
One of the most important distinctions in trafficking cases is that mandatory minimum prison sentences apply.
Under RSMo 579.065, trafficking convictions require the court to impose a minimum term of imprisonment. Probation and suspended imposition of sentence are not available in most trafficking cases.
The length of the mandatory minimum depends on:
Once convicted, incarceration is not optional.
Drug trafficking charges do not require proof of sales, distribution networks, or financial gain. Quantity alone is enough.
This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Missouri drug law. A person can be charged with trafficking even if:
The statute focuses on weight, not explanation.
Many trafficking cases hinge on how drugs are weighed and tested.
Issues frequently arise involving:
Small differences in weight can mean the difference between possession, distribution, and trafficking. These details matter.
Most trafficking cases begin with a traffic stop or search. Because the stakes are so high, constitutional violations are especially significant.
Illegal traffic stops, prolonged detention, unlawful K9 deployments, invalid consent searches, and improper vehicle searches frequently appear in trafficking cases. When evidence is suppressed, trafficking cases often collapse entirely.
Early review of video, dispatch logs, and electronic records is critical.
In multi-occupant vehicles or shared residences, prosecutors often attempt to attribute trafficking-level quantities to a single person using constructive possession theories.
Presence alone is not possession. Proximity is not control. Association is not ownership.
These cases often involve aggressive overreach that must be challenged early and thoroughly.
Drug trafficking convictions carry severe collateral consequences beyond prison time.
They may affect:
A trafficking conviction permanently alters a person’s life trajectory.
Effective defense in trafficking cases focuses on constitutional violations, statutory thresholds, and evidentiary weaknesses.
Defense strategies often include challenging the legality of the stop or search, attacking weight calculations, contesting possession or attribution, and preventing the state from meeting mandatory minimum requirements.
These cases are won through preparation, early motion practice, and aggressive evidence review.
If you are arrested or under investigation for drug trafficking, do not make statements, do not explain possession, and do not consent to searches. Do not assume the evidence is overwhelming or that the charge is automatic.
Early decisions in trafficking cases often determine whether mandatory prison time becomes unavoidable.
Attorney Thomas Kissell of Kissell Law Group defends individuals charged with drug trafficking across Missouri. These cases involve mandatory minimum sentencing, aggressive prosecution, and high stakes.
If you are facing trafficking charges or potential mandatory prison exposure, early legal representation matters.
All consultations are confidential and judgment-free.
Contact Kissell Law Group today to protect your future.