Three men from Honduras who were in the United States illegally have been sentenced to prison for trafficking kilogram amounts of fentanyl, according to an announcement by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Javier Avila-Rivas, 24, received a sentence of 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Christian Josue Campos, 22, was sentenced to five years in prison and four years of supervised release. Jefry Adalberto Martinez-Romero, 19, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison with five years of supervised release. All three pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Court documents show that between August and September 2024, the defendants conspired to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in the Charlotte area. During the investigation, they sold fentanyl multiple times to undercover law enforcement officers. On September 5, 2024, after one such transaction, law enforcement found Avila and Martinez in a vehicle and seized more than 1.9 kilograms of fentanyl—including 786 grams of purple fentanyl still partially in brick form—a rifle, ammunition, digital scales, and $1,172 in cash.
The men are currently held in federal custody and will be transferred to the Bureau of Prisons once a facility is designated.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for their work on this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa prosecuted the case.
"This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."
