(AllHipHop News) Atlanta rapper Ralo appeared in federal court today (April 24), to face a felony distribution of marijuana charge.
The rapper has pleaded not guilty of trying to smuggle almost $2 million worth of the drug on a private plane on two different occasions.
Although Ralo maintained his innocence, the 23-year-old rapper was held without bail as a judge reviews the evidence the FBI has gathered, which seems to be substantial.
Police had been monitoring the rapper’s activities for several months and eventually subpoenaed Centurion Jet aka Global Jet, to gain access to emails Ralo sent, who was personally booking jets from Atlanta to Sacramento, California.
They set up surveillance and watched Ralo arrive in two black vans, a Mercedes Sprinter van and one for Econo-line van. Investigators watched him and 11 other individuals depart on a roundtrip flight from the Fulton County Airport, to Sacremento.
When they returned, agents from the FBI, ATF, and George State Police watched Ralo and his cohorts unload 37 packages of marijuana wrapped in white holiday paper.
The cops stopped the three occupants of the vehicle, which was registered to Ralo, as it was departing from the airport, for driving with their lights off.
Cops could smell the strong odor of weed so they searched the van and found 520 pounds of pot worth $1 million on the street.
To make matters worse, investigators say the rapper uploaded footage of himself surrounded by these individuals and the vans, on December 21, the day before the three men were busted.
The same scenario unfolded on April 14, 2018, on another trip when the men were leaving the McClellan Sacramento Airport for the Cobb County International airport.
As the passengers boarded in Sacremento, investigators watched five men and one woman load 17 packages wrapped in the same white holiday paper.
According to the pilots, Ralo, born and his crew openly smoked marijuana on the plane as it flew coast-to-coast and changed airports mid-flight.
The FBI was monitoring the plane, so they were waiting for the rapper and his crew when they arrived at the Peachtree-Dekalb airport.
Police arrested the all of the passengers, while Ralo, born Terrell Davis, allegedly refused to obey commands to de-board the plane, until agents sent in the K-9 unit.
“After the K-9 was introduced, Davis advised he would comply and was taken into custody as he exited the rear cargo area,” according to agent Allan L. McCleod III.
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The FBI found the 17 packages, some of which had been torn and exposing the green marijuana wrapped in clear cellophane plastic bags.
The total amount seized in the raid of the plane was over 444 pounds of weed worth $840,000.
The FBI says Ralo was selling the drugs from several apartments he owned and rented dubbed “Ralo’s Hood.”
Ralo was held behind bars as the judge investigates the status of his probation from a separate case, which his lawyers argue has been suspended.