PORTLAND (AP) – A 29-year-old man from Georgia who had pleaded guilty to violating drug laws was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to more than 14 years in prison.

The sentence for Austin Obialo of Lithonia, Georgia, which was announced by U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby, was imposed by U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby.

Obialo entered a guilty plea in July 2007 to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, officials said. Obialo was arrested in May 2007 following an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Citing court records, Silsby’s office said Obialo had made three trips from Georgia to Maine in order to sell crack cocaine in Portland and that on the day he was arrested DEA agents searched Obialo’s hotel room and recovered more than 200 grams of crack cocaine and over $10,000.

AP-ES-01-08-08 1829EST