Date: April 11, 2025
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
DETROIT — A Shelby Township man, Martaze Davis, was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for trafficking methamphetamine and laundering drug proceeds, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced.
Beck was joined in the announcement by Charles E. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Detroit Field Office, Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration, and Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Davis was a leader in a Detroit gang, 42 Hustle Boys. The 42 Hustle Boys and a rival gang, the Seven Mile Bloods, engaged in a longstanding and deadly feud. This investigation and prosecution, which began in 2023, focused on Davis’s leadership of a drug conspiracy that sent members to California to purchase methamphetamine brought into the United States from Mexico and transport it across the United States for distribution in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
On Oct. 24, 2023, Davis and codefendant Alexander Polanco, 28, conspired to load a rental car occupied by codefendants Taneeya Richard, 25, and Dejon Howard-Henderson, 24, with 38.9 kilograms of methamphetamine. The following day, officers stopped the rental car in Texas and seized the methamphetamine. Davis also laundered drug proceeds through his personal and business bank accounts intending to conceal the nature and source of the proceeds.
“Our office vigorously pursues drug traffickers, including gang leaders and members, who push dangerous drugs like methamphetamine into our communities with indifference to the tragedy it inflicts. Thanks to the outstanding teamwork among the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Attorney’s Office, a dangerous drug trafficker and money launderer has been removed from our streets,” stated Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck.
"Bringing members of violent street gangs to justice is one of our top operational priorities in the DEA Detroit Division. Mr. Davis and his 42 Hustle Boys co-conspirators are responsible for fueling untold suffering by funneling massive amounts of methamphetamine into areas already hard-hit by the opioid crisis. Today's sentence sends another clear message to drug trafficking organizations that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated and will be met with consequences," said Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Today’s sentencing of Martaze Davis represents a significant victory in our ongoing fight against organized crime and drug trafficking in Detroit,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “This case underscores the powerful collaboration between the FBI, DEA, and Detroit’s IRS Criminal Division. Together, we remain steadfast in our mission to disrupt criminal networks, dismantle money laundering operations, and protect our communities. The removal of Mr. Davis, a dangerous Detroit gang leader, from the streets is a pivotal step in safeguarding Michigan and ensuring the safety of all its residents. Our combined efforts reflect our unwavering commitment to keeping Detroit and the surrounding areas free from criminal activity.”
“The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs. Without these ill-gotten gains, the traffickers could not finance their organizations,” said Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “We will continue to be relentless in our mission to dismantle drug trafficking organizations and bring the criminals who run them to justice.”
The Honorable Sean F. Cox sentenced Davis to 20 years in prison.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by AUSA Paul Kuebler.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.