Orlando, FL - U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell has sentenced Devin Lashawn Jefferson, II (22, Apopka) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for attempting to possess with the intent to distribute furanyl fentanyl. A federal jury found Jefferson guilty of the offense on Sept. 12, 2018.
According to testimony and evidence presented in court, between February and December 2017, Jefferson sent tens of thousands of dollars to recipients in China. In April 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a package from China that was addressed to an Apopka residence that had been associated with Jefferson. The package contained approximately 1 kilogram of furanyl fentanyl, a leading cause of overdose deaths in the Orlando area.
On Feb. 27, 2018, agents conducted a controlled delivery of the package, removing the using furanyl fentanyl and substituting sham substance, and Jefferson retrieved it from the residence. When agents attempted to stop Jefferson, he fled in his car at a high rate of speed thru a school zone and escaped. He was apprehended approximately two weeks later by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Subsequently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted a second package from China addressed to Jefferson that contained approximately one-quarter of a kilogram of methoxyacetyl fentanyl, another powerful fentanyl analogue.
“Fentanyl is a deadly narcotic wreaking havoc in our communities," said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “HSI and our law enforcement partners are committed to dismantling opioid smuggling and today’s sentencing is just one example of how HSI utilizes our broad authorities to combat this epidemic."
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Postal Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Orlando Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Embry J. Kidd and Dana E. Hill.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
