Attempted Trafficking Conviction Despite the Absence of Any Actual Drugs

In Campbell v. State, 935 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006), the Third District upheld a conviction for attempted trafficking despite the absence of any actual cocaine. There, the defendant had agreed to participate in a plot to steal cocaine from the boss of a disgruntled drug courier. In actuality, the courier was an undercover police officer and the plot was a sting operation orchestrated by the Miami-Dade Police Department. See id. at 615-16. Even though the cocaine, too, was fictional, the defendant's attempted trafficking conviction was upheld where he agreed to participate in the drug transaction and committed an overt act toward that objective. See id. at 617.