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# §2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including-fy2024/
- Published: 2026-11-04T09:51:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T09:51:54.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2024, the median prison term for the 17,771 people sentenced under §2D1.1 was 70 months (5.8 years), higher than in fiscal year 2023 (65 months). A mandatory minimum applied to 57% of those with the information recorded. A guilty plea ended 98% of the cases.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Traf](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including/) › §2D1.1: FY2024

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2024, the median prison term for the 17,771 people sentenced under §2D1.1 was 70 months (5.8 years), higher than in fiscal year 2023 (65 months). A mandatory minimum applied to 57% of those with the information recorded. A guilty plea ended 98% of the cases.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17,771 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Median Prison Term of 70 Months

The Commission counted 17,771 people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1\. Of them, 17,156 (97%) received a prison term, and 503 (3%) received probation only.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 70 months (5.8 years). A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or less. 18 people received a life sentence, a small count.

The median in fiscal year 2023 was 65 months, and in fiscal year 2025 it was 72 months. Fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025 are each higher than the 60 months reported for fiscal years 2017 to 2022\. A short run of years may be too early to tell how long the change will last.

## How the Sentence Compared With the Guideline Range

For 17,767 people with the information, 28% (5,051) were sentenced within the guideline range. A sentence below the range at the government's request applied to 43% (7,682), and below the range without a government request to 26% (4,707). Above the range applied to 2% (327).

The share within the range was 26% in fiscal year 2023 and 29% in fiscal year 2025, so fiscal year 2024 was about the same as both.

## Mandatory Minimums, Pleas, and Trials

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10,137 of the 17,766 people with that information recorded (57%).

A guilty plea ended 17,404 cases (98%), and 367 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 66 months after a guilty plea and 181 months after a trial, based on 367 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas.

The groups of cases differ in drug type, criminal history, and other facts that the records here do not describe.

## What the Guideline Is

The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2D1.1 "Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses); Attempt or Conspiracy". For each case counted here it set the offense level for the most serious count, and the Commission files all 17,771 cases here under its Drug Trafficking offense type.

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30\. Fiscal year 2024 began on October 1, 2023.

## Fiscal Year 2024 in the Full Table and Against All Guidelines

Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, §2D1.1 covered 181,468 people. The median prison term for the whole period was 60 months, and 31% were sentenced within the range.

In fiscal year 2024, everyone sentenced in federal court under any guideline numbered 61,678\. The median prison term was 30 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 46% were within the range. The table gives every §2D1.1 year.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 19,199           | 55 months     | 98%            |
| 2017        | 19,223           | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 18,404           | 60 months     | 97%            |
| 2019        | 19,463           | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2020        | 15,965           | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2021        | 17,241           | 60 months     | 99%            |
| 2022        | 19,612           | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2023        | 18,640           | 65 months     | 98%            |
| 2024        | 17,771           | 70 months     | 98%            |
| 2025        | 15,950           | 72 months     | 98%            |

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release followed prison for 16,858 people (95%), with a median term of 36 months. 9 people (less than 1%) received it for life. A fine was ordered for 1,033 (6%) and restitution for 274 (2%).

In criminal history, 45% were in the lowest category (category I) and 14% in the highest (category VI).

## Limits of the Records

The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The approved crosswalk pairs §2D1.1 with Article 112a of the UCMJ. The comparison posts cover that article, and this post reports federal numbers only.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.1 (17,771), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

**Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

**Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including/) (overview)
- [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including-fy2025/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [What Sentence Follows an Army Drug Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-sent-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Often Are Contested Army Article 112a Cases Acquitted?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-acq-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Guilty Pleas in Army Drug Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-plea-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-112a-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Air Force?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-112a-sent-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Pleading Guilty to Article 112a in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-112a-plea-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-sent-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Drug Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-acq-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Drug](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-plea-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.