Heroin Trafficking Laws in New York: What You Need to Know

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation criminal defense firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 50 years of combined experience defending heroin trafficking cases throughout New York. Heroin trafficking carries some of the harshest penalties in New York’s criminal code. We’re talking mandatory minimum 15 years to life for selling two ounces or more under state law, and federal mandatory minimums of 5 to 10 years that kick in at even lower weights.

This article explains the weight thresholds that determine trafficking charges, the difference between state and federal prosecution, how prosecutors prove sales, and the enhanced penalties when heroin contains fentanyl or causes overdose deaths. We’re covering what matters when you’re charged with heroin trafficking.

Trafficking vs Possession: The Legal Distinction

Heroin trafficking means selling, exchanging, giving away, or disposing of heroin to another person under New York Penal Law Article 220. You don’t need to make money. Giving heroin to a friend for free counts as criminal sale.

Any heroin sale is a felony. There’s no misdemeanor trafficking charge. Selling a single bag of heroin – less than a gram – gets charged as fifth-degree criminal sale, a Class D felony with up to seven years in prison.

This differs from possession. Heroin possession can be a misdemeanor (under half an ounce without intent to sell) or a felony (half ounce or more, or any amount with intent to sell). But once prosecutors prove you sold heroin, you’re facing felony charges regardless of the amount.

The distinction matters because trafficking penalties are substantially harsher than possession at equivalent weights. Possessing two ounces of heroin is second-degree possession, a Class A-II felony with three to ten years mandatory minimum. Selling two ounces is first-degree sale, a Class A-I felony with fifteen years to life mandatory minimum.

Weight Thresholds for Heroin Sale Charges

New York structures heroin sale charges into five degrees based on weight sold.

Fifth-Degree Sale: Any Amount

Class D felony. Maximum seven years. Applies to any measurable quantity. First-timers might avoid prison, but judges commonly impose one to three years.

Fourth-Degree Sale: School Zones or Specific Amounts

Class C felony. Three and a half to fifteen years. Applies when selling within 1,000 feet of schools. Fines up to $15,000.

Third-Degree Sale: Half Ounce or More

Class B felony. Minimum five years with no priors, ten with prior drug felonies. Maximum twenty-five years. Applies when selling half ounce (14g) or more, or selling to anyone under 21. Fines up to $30,000. Prison mandatory.

Second-Degree Sale: Four Ounces or More

Class A-II felony. Three to eight years minimum, life maximum. Fines $1,000 to $50,000.

First-Degree Sale: Two Ounces or More

Class A-I felony. Mandatory minimum fifteen to twenty-five years. Maximum life. Fines up to $100,000. Major drug traffickers get fifteen to life with no parole for fifteen years.

Federal vs State Mandatory Minimums

Heroin cases can be prosecuted in state court or federal court. Federal prosecutors cherry-pick cases involving large quantities, interstate trafficking, or organized distribution networks.

Federal Mandatory Minimums Under 21 USC § 841

100g to 1kg: Five-year mandatory minimum, forty-year maximum.

1kg or more: Ten-year mandatory minimum, life maximum.

If death or serious injury results: Twenty-year mandatory minimum. Fentanyl-laced heroin causing overdoses triggers this.

Second offense: Minimums double. Ten years for 100g, twenty for 1kg.

Federal sentences have no parole. You serve 85% minimum. A ten-year sentence means eight and a half years actual time.

State vs Federal: Which Is Worse?

Depends on weight. Two ounces in state court triggers fifteen to life. Same amount in federal court falls below 100g threshold – might avoid mandatory minimums.

For larger amounts, federal charges are worse. Cooperation requirements are stricter, judges have less discretion. Federal prosecutors demand substantial assistance to get below minimums.

How Prosecutors Prove Heroin Trafficking

Undercover Drug Buys

Police conduct controlled purchases. An undercover officer or informant buys heroin. The transaction is recorded. Police photograph drugs and money.

Multiple buys strengthen cases. Prosecutors prefer three or more transactions showing a pattern.

We challenge by questioning entrapment, informant reliability, and procedures. Did police provide money? Did the informant induce someone not predisposed to sell? Was chain of custody maintained?

Wiretaps and Electronic Surveillance

Federal prosecutors use wiretaps in major investigations. They need court authorization showing other methods failed and probable cause exists.

Wiretaps record conversations about quantities, prices, locations. Recordings become powerful trial evidence.

We challenge by examining whether applications met legal requirements, minimization procedures were followed, and whether affidavits contained false information.

Confidential Informants

Police use arrested users as informants. Someone caught agrees to cooperate – making controlled buys, introducing undercovers, providing supplier information.

Informant testimony is often unreliable. They’re motivated to lie to reduce their charges, exaggerate your role, or set you up.

We attack credibility at trial. What deal did they get? Have they lied before? Do witnesses corroborate? Juries are skeptical of cooperators with everything to gain.

Fentanyl-Laced Heroin and Overdose Death Enhancements

Most street heroin now contains fentanyl – 50 times stronger. Users don’t know. They use normal doses and overdose.

When someone dies, prosecutors charge dealers with causing death. Federal law: twenty-year mandatory minimum. New York: criminally negligent homicide or manslaughter added to sale charges.

Prosecutors trace deaths through phone records, texts, witness statements, chemical analysis matching sold drugs to victim’s system.

Defense focuses on causation. Did your drugs cause death? Did the victim use other substances? Can prosecutors prove the drugs you sold killed them?

Enhanced Penalties for School Zones and Minors

Selling within 1,000 feet of a school triggers enhanced charges. In NYC, school zones cover enormous areas – nearly impossible to avoid in Manhattan.

Selling to minors (under 21) elevates charges. Fifth-degree becomes third-degree. Prison becomes mandatory.

We challenge school zone charges by measuring actual distances. GPS, surveyor measurements, property records establish exact distances. At 1,001 feet, enhancement doesn’t apply.

What Spodek Law Group Does in Heroin Trafficking Cases

We’ve defended hundreds of heroin trafficking cases since 1976, from street-level sales to multi-kilogram federal conspiracies. Our team includes former prosecutors who understand how the government builds trafficking cases – and where they fall apart.

Undercover operations get challenged aggressively. We examine whether informants were reliable, whether police followed proper procedures during controlled buys, whether you were entrapped into selling when you weren’t predisposed. If the undercover operation was flawed, charges get dismissed or reduced.

Wiretap challenges require detailed technical review. We examine the wiretap application, the minimization logs, the sealing procedures. One procedural violation can suppress all wiretap evidence – and without the wiretaps, federal cases often collapse.

Weight disputes matter enormously in heroin cases. The difference between 1.9 ounces and 2.1 ounces is fifteen years of mandatory minimum prison time. We demand independent testing, challenge purity calculations, examine whether cutting agents were improperly included.

At Spodek Law Group, we focus on getting you the best possible outcome – whether that’s getting charges dismissed, knocked down from federal to state court, reduced from first-degree to lower degrees, or negotiating cooperation agreements that minimize mandatory minimums. You can reach us 24/7 at our offices throughout NYC and Long Island. When you’re facing 15 years to life, your defense matters.