Edgar Balderas, a 27-year-old from San Diego, California, has been sentenced to 148 months in prison for his involvement in a large-scale fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. This operation distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl across the United States, including the District of Columbia. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian, and Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood.
Balderas, also known as "Nano," pleaded guilty on December 19, 2024, to conspiracy charges involving over 400 grams of fentanyl. In addition to his prison sentence, he will serve five years of supervised release as ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
The investigation began following the overdose death of Diamond Lynch in Southeast D.C., which led authorities to uncover a network transporting fentanyl from Mexico through Los Angeles to Washington D.C. Over 450,000 fentanyl pills and significant quantities of fentanyl powder were seized during the investigation.
Court documents reveal that Balderas worked with a Los Angeles-based trafficker to supply counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl from Fall 2022 until February 2023 when the trafficker was arrested. Following this arrest, Balderas attempted to sell directly to distributors based in D.C., using Instagram for communication.
This case involved multiple defendants across various locations and was part of a broader investigation conducted by several law enforcement agencies including the DEA Washington Division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division.
The prosecution team included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey, Solomon S. Eppel, and Iris Y. McCranie from the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section.
