NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A New Orleans man has been sentenced for his role in a “large scale” cocaine conspiracy.

According to documents from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office pulled over a vehicle on Interstate 10 that was headed to Houston, Texas from New Orleans.

During a search of the vehicle, officers discovered $948,174 in cash and several cell phones reportedly containing text messages about drug trafficking and ledgers.

An investigation into the messages and phone records led detectives to determine that 46-year-old Hakim Shabazz was receiving cocaine shipments in gas canisters at his auto shop and distributing it across the city.

Officers said Shabazz admitted to the conspiracy involving 50 and 150 kilograms of cocaine.

Shabazz is set to serve 60 months in the Bureau of Prisons and five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

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