Tampa residents convicted on federal drug charges

TAMPA — A man and a woman were sentenced to federal prison Monday on several drug charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday.

Jabulani Bendar Seay, 34, and Gwendolyn Shank, 54, both of Tampa, were convicted of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as conspiring to launder drug proceeds, prosecutors said.

Seay and Shank were part of a nationwide drug trafficking group that shipped drugs from California to cities throughout the United States, including Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Officials seized about $120,000 in drug money from Shank at Tampa International Airport in September 2010. Seay received drug shipments, distributed them to dealers and mailed the money back to California.

Seay was sentenced to 17 and a half years in federal prison, while Shank received nine years.