OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Roman Kitroser brings this motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2255. In November 2015, Kitroser pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846, for which he was sentenced principally to a term of 25 years’ imprisonment by this Court. In his §2255 motion, Kitroser argues that his prior counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to investigate whether certain evidence that emerged after Kitroser’s guilty plea could have supported a post-plea motion to suppress part or all of the Government’s evidence against him. Because Kitroser has failed to show that: (i) such an investigation would have led to a meritorious suppression motion, or (ii) he was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to make such a motion, his §2255 motion is denied. BACKGROUND1 A. Factual Background 1. The Commencement of the Investigation in 2012 The DEA began investigating Roman Kitroser in 2012 for suspected narcotics trafficking. (PSR 12). On July 11, 2012, Natisha Aponte, who had been identified as Kitroser’s girlfriend, was stopped by law enforcement authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport while carrying $136,900 in cash in a vacuum-sealed pouch contained within her carry-on luggage. (Id. at 13). Law enforcement officers seized the cash, and on July 16, 2012, a narcotics-detecting canine alerted officers to the presence of narcotics with the money. (Id.). Due to the fact that the investigation was ongoing, Aponte was not arrested at that time. (Id.). 2. The Continuation of the Investigation in 2013 In December 2013, employees of a car dealership in Brooklyn notified local law enforcement authorities that they had received a package they believed to contain drugs. (PSR 14). Upon arrival, agents opened the package and discovered approximately three kilograms of heroin. (Id.). They directed the employees of the dealership to alert them if and when someone arrived to pick up the package. (Id.). Later that day, Aponte arrived at the car dealership to pick up the package. (Id.). However, she became suspicious of the employees’ efforts to stall her and left without the package. (Id.). Aponte was then observed entering a vehicle that Kitroser was driving. Again, Aponte was stopped by law enforcement authorities — this time with Kitroser — and again she was permitted to leave. (Id.). 3. Kitroser’s Arrest in Late 2014 The investigation into Kitroser’s narcotics-trafficking activities continued into 2014. On approximately 20 different dates between November 2014 and December 2014, DEA agents conducted surveillance of Kitroser in the vicinities of his Brooklyn and Manhattan apartments. (PSR 16). On November 12, 2014, agents videotaped Kitroser at a Duane Reade pharmacy near his Manhattan apartment, engaging in a drug transaction with two unidentified individuals. (Id. at 17). On November 20, 2014, agents observed Kitroser attempt to mail a large package; a canine later alerted agents to the detection of narcotics in the package. (PSR 18). That same day, agents obtained a search warrant for the package (the “November 2014 Warrant”), signed by then-United States Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis of this District; in executing the warrant, agents recovered a speaker with a hidden compartment that contained approximately $300,000 in cash. (Id.). An employee at the mail station where Kitroser had attempted to mail the package told DEA agents that he knew Kitroser as “John Mackley,” and, further, that Kitroser was a regular customer who had sent 15 packages during the preceding 90 days. (Id. at 19). Four days later, on November 24, 2014, Kitroser was intercepted on a wiretap that was being administered in California by the DEA (the “California Wiretap”), and that was intended to intercept the communications of members of a drug-trafficking organization responsible for importing large quantities of narcotics into the U.S. from Mexico. (PSR 20). In connection with that investigation, the DEA had seized at least 403 pounds of cocaine, 230 pounds of heroin, and 28 pounds of methamphetamine between May 12, 2014, and October 28, 2014. (Id.). Kitroser was heard speaking with one of the targets of the California investigation, who was receiving shipments of narcotics in the Los Angeles area. (Id.). Kitroser engaged in multiple telephone calls with the target, during which they discussed, among other things, the receipt and transport of various packages and boxes. (Id.). On December 4, 2014, the Government obtained a warrant for Kitroser’s geolocation information from then-United States Magistrate Judge Frank Maas of this District. (Dkt. #140-6). The agent affidavit in support of the warrant recited that there was probable cause to believe that the geolocation information would lead to evidence of a narcotics conspiracy given the following facts: (i) the DEA had been investigating Kitroser since 2012; (ii) an individual had told law enforcement that on at least three occasions he had received packages of cash from Kitroser for narcotics trafficking; (iii) law enforcement had observed Kitroser attempt to mail a package that contained $500,000 in cash in a speaker; (iv) a canine had alerted officers to the presence of controlled substances in the package; (v) Kitroser had mailed 15 packages to California in the preceding 90 days using the name “John Mackley”; (vi) law enforcement agents in California had observed a target of the California Wiretap investigation pick up the packages shipped by Kitroser; (vii) that target had been intercepted participating in several calls with Kitroser; and (viii) the DEA now had recordings of the calls between Kitroser and the target discussing mailing packages. (Id. at 4-7). That same day, the Government obtained a warrant for a GPS tracking device for two of Kitroser’s vehicles from United States Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann of the Eastern District of New York. (Dkt. #140-7). The agent affidavit in support of this warrant recited that there was probable cause to believe that GPS information would lead to evidence of a narcotics conspiracy given the following facts: (i) an individual had told law enforcement that on at least three occasions he had received packages of cash from Kitroser for narcotics trafficking; (ii) law enforcement had observed Kitroser trade bags with two men in the back of a drug store in Manhattan; (iii) Kitroser had attempted to mail a package that contained $500,000 in cash in a speaker from a Brooklyn mail station; (iv) a canine had alerted to the presence of controlled substances in the package; (v) Kitroser had mailed 15 packages to California from the Brooklyn mail station in the preceding 90 days using the name “John Mackley”; and (vi) law enforcement agents in California had observed a target of the California Wiretap investigation pick up certain packages shipped by Kitroser. (Id. at 4-9). On December 8, 2014, law enforcement agents identified a package arriving from California that was intended for Kitroser. (PSR 22). After obtaining a positive canine hit on the package and a search warrant, law enforcement agents opened the package and discovered a speaker that contained one kilogram of heroin and six kilograms of cocaine. (Id.). On December 9, 2014, law enforcement agents observed what they believed to be a drug transaction between Kitroser and another individual in the parking lot of a Staples store in Brooklyn. (Id. at 23). On December 11, 2014, law enforcement agents again conducted surveillance of Kitroser in the vicinity of his Brooklyn apartment. (PSR 25). Kitroser was observed entering the residence and emerging with a bookbag, which he put in the trunk of his car. (Id.). Kitroser drove a short distance, at which point co-defendant Ronel Pierre approached Kitroser’s car carrying a black bag. (Id.). Pierre entered the vehicle and handed the bag to Kitroser. (Id.). Law enforcement agents approached the car and spoke with Kitroser and Pierre. (Id.). Kitroser claimed that the car was not his and that the bags inside did not belong to him. (Id.). Kitroser and Pierre were then arrested. (Id.). Law enforcement agents subsequently found $67,995 in the bag delivered by Pierre and two packages containing two kilograms of cocaine inside the bookbag carried by Kitroser. (Id.). That day, Kitroser was arrested in this District along with Natisha Aponte, Ronel Pierre, and Jessy Castillo. (Dkt. #3). Also on that day, United States Magistrate Judge Vera Scanlon of the Eastern District of New York signed a search warrant for Kitroser’s Brooklyn apartment. (PSR 27). The agent affidavit submitted in support of the warrant recited that there was probable cause to believe that Kitroser kept narcotics and narcotics proceeds in the apartment given the following facts: (i) Kitroser had attempted to mail a package that contained $300,0002 in cash in a speaker; (ii) a canine had alerted officers to the presence of controlled substances in the package; and (iii) law enforcement officers had arrested Kitroser with two bookbags in his car, one containing large bundles of U.S. currency and another containing two brick-shaped packages containing what appeared to be cocaine. (Dkt. #143-2 at 3-5). In executing the search warrant for Kitroser’s Brooklyn apartment, DEA agents found, among other things, nine firearms, one of which showed evidence of discharge and three of which appeared to be three machine-guns; two silencers; high-ammunition magazines; approximately eight kilogram-sized packages containing cocaine; two packages containing approximately two kilograms of heroin; a large press used to form loose narcotics into kilogram-sized bricks (i.e., a “kilo press”); bundles of U.S. currency totaling more than $889,000; three money counters; approximately 21 cell phones; a laptop computer that revealed that more than 140 UPS packages had been tracked between California and New York, each of which weighed between nine and 60 pounds; and identification cards that displayed photographs of Kitroser, but reflected different names. (PSR 27). The following day, December 12, 2014, United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein of this District signed a search warrant for Kitroser’s Manhattan apartment. (PSR 29). The agent affidavit submitted in support of the warrant recited that there was probable cause to believe that Kitroser kept narcotics and narcotics proceeds in that apartment given the following facts: (i) Kitroser had been seen driving between and among his Manhattan apartment, his Brooklyn apartment, and a mail station with cardboard boxes; (ii) law enforcement officers had stopped Kitroser with two bookbags in his car, one of which contained large bundles of U.S. currency and the other of which contained two brick-shaped packages of what appeared to be cocaine; and (iii) a search of Kitroser’s Brooklyn apartment had turned up six kilograms of cocaine, receipts from UPS and FedEx stores, a kilo press, U.S. currency, and guns. (Dkt. #143-4 at 3-6). During the execution of the search warrant at Kitroser’s Manhattan apartment, agents found, among other items, three speaker boxes, each containing seven kilograms of cocaine (for a total of 21 kilograms); a bag containing 2.35 kilograms of marijuana; scales; a safe containing approximately $55,000 in U.S. currency; a vacuum-sealed package containing more than $100,000 in U.S. currency; ledgers containing tracking numbers for packages; three money counters; electronics; and fake identification cards. PSR 29). Using a key recovered during the execution of the residential search warrants, law enforcement agents then opened a storage locker in Brooklyn. (Id. at 30). Inside the locker, agents recovered a Louis Vuitton purse that contained two hand grenades hidden inside two red cloth bags. (Id.). On December 18, 2014, DEA agents executed a search warrant on 10 parcels intercepted in connection with the investigation. (PSR 31). The parcels were addressed to various companies and individuals in New York City and were sent from various individuals in California. (Id.). The packages were determined to contain approximately 35 kilograms of cocaine, three kilograms of heroin, and $1,001,265 in cash. (Id.). B. Procedural Background 1. The Complaint and the Indictment On December 12, 2014, the day after the arrests, the Government filed Complaint No. 14 Mag. 2797, charging Kitroser, Aponte, Pierre, and Castillo with conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances (specifically, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana), in violation of 21 U.S.C. §846, and with using and carrying, or aiding and abetting the use and possession of, firearms in connection with that conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§924(c) and 2. (Dkt. #1). Kitroser was represented at his presentment by attorney James R. Froccaro, Esq.; attorneys Edward Palermo and Sanford Talkin later entered notices of appearance, but the conduct about which Kitroser now complains was undertaken by Froccaro. (Dkt. #2, 13, 17). On January 13, 2015, a grand jury returned Indictment No. 15 Cr. 19, charging Kitroser and his co-defendants with: (i) conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances (specifically, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana), in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A) and (D), and 846; and (ii) possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and aiding and abetting same, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§924(c) and 2. (Dkt. #14). Kitroser was arraigned on January 16, 2015, and subsequent pretrial conferences were held with him on March 13, 2015, and April 3, 2015. (Minute Entries). 2. The Motion to Suppress and the Scheduling of Trial On July 16, 2015, Kitroser submitted a motion to suppress any evidence seized pursuant to the November 2014 Warrant, as well as the fruits of any such evidence. (Dkt. #61). Kitroser argued that the warrant was based on a purported canine alert that narcotics would be found inside the cardboard box, but that after the warrant was issued and the search of the package conducted, no controlled substances were found. (Id. at 6-7). After briefing had concluded, and shortly before oral argument, Kitroser submitted a “supplement” to his motion that raised additional factual and legal arguments. (Dkt. #77). On October 16, 2015, the Court held oral argument on Kitroser’s motion as supplemented. (Dkt. #83 (transcript of proceedings)). The Court then denied the suppression motion via oral order. (Id. at 58:21-59:3). On October 21, 2015, the Government filed a prior felony information against Kitroser pursuant to 21 U.S.C. §851, which filing had the effect of doubling the otherwise-applicable mandatory minimum terms specified by 21 U.S.C. §841(b)(1)(A). (Dkt. #79). The following day, the Court issued a schedule for trial to begin on December 1, 2015. (Dkt. #80). 3. The Plea and Sentencing On November 2, 2015, Kitroser pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement with the Government to Count One of the Indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of heroin, five kilograms and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of cocaine, and mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of marijuana. (See Dkt. #83). The Government and Kitroser stipulated that, because of the weight of drugs involved, the use of a firearm, the maintenance of a stash house, the commission of the offense as part of a pattern of criminal conduct engaged in as a livelihood, and Kitroser’s supervisory role in the charged conspiracy, the adjusted offense level under the Guidelines was 42. (Dkt. #140-2 (“Plea Agreement”) at 2-3; see also PSR
43-50). The Government agreed that a two-level decrease would be appropriate if Kitroser continued to accept responsibility, and that it would recommend a reduction of one additional level for Kitroser’s provision of timely notice of his intention to plead guilty, for an adjusted offense level of 39. (Plea Agreement 3; see also PSR
