BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Lay Wah, 24, a Burmese citizen living in Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison by U.S. District Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan E. Leydecker, who handled the case, stated that on March 13, 2023, the ATF and Buffalo Police executed a search warrant at Wah’s Newfield Street residence. As SWAT officers made entry into the apartment, they also formed a perimeter around the exterior of the residence. Simultaneous with Wah fleeing into the rear of the apartment, an officer outside observed an object being thrown out of a rear bedroom window. Investigators recovered a semi-automatic handgun from the rear yard next door. Attached to the handgun was an extended magazine loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition and a machinegun conversion device. Inside the apartment, investigators recovered approximately 888 blue pills, three cellular telephones, ammunition, narcotics packaging materials and $4,540 in cash.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commission Joseph Gramaglia.
