By Ciara Perez, Investigative Journalist | iSkyCreations – News & Media (ISC)
Published Jan 29th, 2024
COLUMBIA, S.C. — In a courtroom in Columbia, Archie Arsenio Caldwell, a 35-year-old man from Rock Hill, faced the consequences of his involvement in a sprawling drug conspiracy. Caldwell was sentenced to 200 months – more than 16 years – in federal prison, after pleading guilty to charges involving the distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and marijuana, as well as money laundering.
The case, which reads like a crime drama, began unraveling when the FBI Columbia Field Office and the York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit started probing a group suspected of bringing large amounts of various drugs from a distributor in Southern California to the Carolinas. Caldwell, as it turned out, was a key player in this operation. He wasn’t just a member; he was one of the linchpins, helping his cohorts secure flights to California for drug purchases and coordinating the logistics of shipping these illicit substances back to South Carolina.