Two suspects admit to role in nationwide marijuana trafficking ring

Two Capital Region residents have admitted to their role in a nationwide marijuana trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.

Niara Banks, 32, of Troy, and Lawrence Murphy, 45, of Albany,  pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.

They admitted that they were involved in an organization that cultivated marijuana on a commercial scale in Fresno, California and shipped thousands of kilograms of marijuana and THC to locations throughout the country, including in the Capital Region, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Banks admitted that between September 2020 and March 2022, she received 33 packages containing 293 pounds of marijuana at her home in Troy and another home in Albany, according to prosecutors.

She said that she laundered nearly $66,000 in proceeds from the operation by purchasing cashier’s checks.

Mumphrey admitted that between February 2020 and June 2022, he received 74 packages of marijuana at his apartment in Albany. He also sold marijuana and edibles out of a location in Troy. Investigators found 29 pounds of marijuana, nearly $4,000 in cash, several digital scales, a safe with a bulletproof vest and another box shipped from Fresno, police said.

A search of his property found a dogfood container with around 8 pounds of marijuana in a room in the basement, three semiautomatic rifles, a pistol and ammunition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Mumphrey also purchased cashier’s checks to launder $132,000 in proceeds and gave proceeds to other members of the operation.

Both defendants will be sentenced at a later date. Banks faces up to 20 years in prison and Mumphrey faces 10 years to potentially life in prison.

Fourteen other defendants in the case have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.