CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Rapper pleaded guilty Monday to a conspiracy drug charge that carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence, admitting that he participated in a massive drug trafficking racket that moved drugs from the West Coast to Long Island.
The plea in Central Islip came before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke, who had revoked his bond and sent him to jail two weeks ago. After the plea, he was returned to jail to await sentencing, though a date was not immediately set.
Locke revoked the rapper’s $500,000 bail, secured by property he owns in Georgia, after prosecutors said that Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, threatened to kill a man during a FaceTime call in 2021, violating the terms of his pretrial release in his drug case.
The “Trap Queen” rapper was initially arrested last October on charges alleging he participated in a conspiracy to smuggle large amounts of heroin, fentanyl and other drugs into the New York City area.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances, the top charge in an indictment against him, though the plea pertained only to cocaine. It carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison while federal sentencing guidelines are likely to recommend about two additional years in prison. The plea spared him from a potential life sentence if he had been convicted on all the charges he faced.
His lawyers did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Maxwell and five co-defendants were accused of conspiring to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine between June 2019 and June 2020. Two codefendants also have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
The scheme allegedly involved using the U.S. Postal Service and cars with hidden compartments to move drugs from the West Coast to Long Island, where they were stored for distribution to dealers on Long Island and in New Jersey, prosecutors said.
Maxwell rose to prominence after “Trap Queen,” his debut single, reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 2015.
The Long Island arrest was not his first. In 2019, he was arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly assaulting three employees at a hotel-casino. He was also arrested in November 2017 on a DUI charge after police said he was drag racing on a New York City highway.
