One of the most commonly charged criminal offenses in South Florida is Trafficking in Cocaine. Of the most serious crimes charged in Fort Lauderdale criminal courts, Trafficking has become much more common. South Florida criminal lawyers practicing in Fort Lauderdale carry a heavier caseload of these cases in recent times. The charge has become more common due to the increase number of criminal arrests in Fort Lauderdale of people who enter Florida to obtain controlled substances such as pain relief medications from the increasing number of “Pain Clinics” in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County.
The charge of trafficking in cocaine requires the prosecutor prove the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of and possession of the drugs, further that he had a “trafficking amount” of the controlled substance, and that there was a transaction or a sale. Possession of cocaine is charged when the amount of cocaine is a “personal use” amount: which is determined by the weight of the cocaine. Crack cocaine, although not pure cocaine is weighed and treated like cocaine for the purpose of determining the weight of the cocaine when the charge of trafficking in cocaine is filed.