Source: United States Department of Justice News
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Detroit man pleaded guilty to the distribution of a quantity of fentanyl.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Kyle L. Thomas, also known as “Trip,” 22, admitted to selling a quantity of fentanyl to a confidential informant in Amigo, Raleigh County, on October 18, 2021.
Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 2, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit (BRCDVCU) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for conducting the investigation.
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell is prosecuting the case.
The case is a result of a months-long investigation dubbed “Operation Wolverine Carousel,” an investigation into the wide-spread distribution of heroin and fentanyl in Raleigh and Fayette Counties.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:22-cr-29.
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