Massachusetts Woman Sentenced in Multi-State Drug Ring Bust: Over 160 Pounds of Meth, Firearms, and 4,200 Rounds of Ammo Seized

BOSTON – A member of a drug-trafficking ring that worked across the country was sentenced today in Boston federal court. People were caught with over 160 pounds of pure methamphetamine, an AK-47, a Glock with no serial number, two loaded Smith & Wesson handguns, and over 4,200 rounds of ammo. A business that grew marijuana illegally and had hundreds of plants was also shut down.

For her crime, 39-year-old Robyn Costa from Brockton, Massachusetts, was given a 102-month prison term by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, followed by three years of being closely watched after her release. The charges against Costa were conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Costa pleaded guilty to all three counts in November 2022. Ten more people were charged with crimes involving controlled substances, guns, and money laundering in the new complaint.

Investigators got information about the drug trafficking operations of a large-scale methamphetamine supplier in the Boston area around October 2020. Late in 2020, police discovered Reshat Alkayisi as a large-scale methamphetamine dealer who sent multiple co-conspirators in the New England area large amounts of the drug. Costa was found to be one of Alkayisi’s methamphetamine suppliers. About five pounds (2.1 kilograms) of pure methamphetamine were given to Costa by Alkayisi in April 2021. After the meeting, Costa was caught, and investigators took the methamphetamine and a loaded Smith & Wesson semi-automatic gun from his car.

Costa is the second person who has been convicted. The other suspects have all pleaded guilty and are now waiting to be sentenced.

The news came from Joshua S. Levy, who is acting as U.S. attorney, Jodi Cohen, who is special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division, and Stephen Belleau, who is acting as special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England field division. The Massachusetts Department of Correction, the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office, and the police departments of Concord, Hudson, Peabody, Reading, Watertown, and Waltham all helped out. There was also help from the state police in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea Porter and Katherine Ferguson of the Criminal Division.