Aliquippa Cocaine and Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court on March 12, 2025, to 10 years of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of federal supervised release, on his drug trafficking conviction, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV imposed the sentence on Kijana Stephaun Lowe, 27.

According to information presented to the Court, Lowe was a participant in a drug trafficking organization that was the subject of a joint investigation by federal, state, and local law enforcement operating under the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program in Beaver County. Prison call recordings between Lowe and an inmate at State Correctional Institution Phoenix revealed that Lowe would order kilogram quantities of cocaine and fentanyl from the prisoner, who would then direct a co-defendant to deliver the controlled substances to Lowe. Lowe in turn supplied the drugs to another co-defendant, who would subsequently sell them to end users.

In November 2021, investigators learned that an in-person delivery of kilogram quantities of cocaine was planned to Lowe in the Western District of Pennsylvania. On November 8, 2021, law enforcement conducted a surveillance operation at the Greyhound Bus Station in downtown Pittsburgh, where they observed two co-defendants exit the bus station with suitcases and enter a vehicle driven by a third co-defendant. Mobile surveillance followed the vehicle to a motel in Coraopolis.

A separate surveillance detail followed Lowe from his residence to the same motel, where they observed Lowe enter the motel room occupied by the three co-defendants, and then, back outside, accept one of the suitcases transported from the bus station. Law enforcement detained the individuals and executed search warrants on the suitcase, the motel room, and Lowe’s vehicle. The suitcase contained nearly 10 kilograms of cocaine, while Lowe’s vehicle contained over $280,000 that was to be used to purchase the seized cocaine. In conjunction with the interdiction, law enforcement obtained search warrants for cell phones found in the possession of Lowe and one of the co-defendants. Digital extractions revealed numerous communications and photographs between the conspirators regarding their drug trafficking activity.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Stickman emphasized that the amount of fentanyl and cocaine attributable to Lowe in this drug trafficking organization was staggering and that these controlled substances were a poison to the community. Judge Stickman also denied Lowe’s request to have his federal sentence run concurrently to a recent parole revocation related to his last felony drug trafficking crimes, explaining to Lowe that he “do(es) not get a free crime.”

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna and Special Assistant United States Attorney Kara Cotter prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lowe and his co-conspirators.