MUSKEGON, Mich. — One Muskegon man has been sentenced to 210 months imprisonment after conspiring with others to sell illegal drugs including heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Zachary John Kennedy a/k/a "Zeus" sold methamphetamine and used guns in the furtherance of his drug trafficking.
Judge Maloney sentenced Kennedy saying he was “a major threat to the public”
“This sentence marks a significant step in our efforts to disrupt major drug traffickers in the Muskegon area” commented U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge. “Zachary Kennedy’s actions endangered his community and put innocent citizens at risk. With today’s sentence, Mr. Kennedy has been held accountable for his actions.”
“I’d like to thank our law enforcement partners for their diligence in investigating drug trafficking crimes and protecting the public from violent drug traffickers like Mr. Kennedy,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin. “The illicit drugs he pushed into west Michigan are nothing short of poison, and the DEA will continue to work this case, and others like it, to their respective sources and bring everyone involved to justice.”
“WEMET Muskegon is a multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of local, county, state, and federal officers. These types of cases would not be possible without the longstanding cooperation between agencies. Criminal drug traffickers do not stop at jurisdictional borders and because of cooperative efforts like the one here, neither do we,” said Detective Lieutenant Andrew Ambrose, commander of the West Michigan Enforcement Team (WEMET), a division of the Michigan State Police and one of the lead investigative agencies on the case.
Kennedy’s case was part of Operation Interstate Zeus coordinated by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that was started in 2019 by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
A graphic full of the defendants' names, aliases, and sentences, excluding Kennedy, can be found below.
Operation Interstate Zeus resulted in the arrests of Kennedy and 5 others, the overall seizure of approximately 339 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 113 grams of fentanyl, 93 grams of heroin, and quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine. Investigators also seized six handguns, jewelry worth approximately $20,000, and more than $20,000 in cash according to the Department of Justice.
Information about OCDETF can be found online.
