Fentanyl dealers

Extracted Attributes

• Key Activity

  Illicit distribution of fentanyl

• Primary Impact

  Leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States since 2018

• Primary Market

  United States

• Challenges Posed

  Deceptive presentation makes overdose treatment difficult

• Ease of Production

  High potency and ease of manufacture make it attractive for illicit production

• Potency of Fentanyl

  30-50 times more potent than heroin, 100 times more potent than morphine

• Distribution Methods

  Mixing with other drugs (heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine), selling as powders/nasal sprays, pressing into counterfeit pills (mimicking oxycodone)

• Primary Smuggling Route

  Through Mexico

• Source of Illicit Fentanyl

  Foreign clandestine labs (e.g., China)

• Financial Transactions (Domestic)

  Primarily cash and peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers

Timeline

• Annual deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) in the United States increased from 2,600 to 70,601. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2011-2021

• Fentanyl reports by federal, state, and local forensic laboratories in the United States increased from 4,697 to 117,045. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2014-2020

• A drug trafficking organization, including Thomas Padovano and Bartholomew Padovano, began importing and distributing various controlled substances and analogues, including fentanyl. (Source: web_search_results)

  2014-01-01

• Fentanyl and its analogues became responsible for most drug overdose deaths in the United States, surpassing heroin. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2018-01-01

• The drug trafficking organization involving Thomas Padovano and Bartholomew Padovano concluded its period of importing and distributing controlled substances. (Source: web_search_results)

  2020-09-30

• Fentanyl caused over 71,238 drug overdose deaths in the United States. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2021-01-01

• Kevin Lopez, Jacqueline Carolina Fonseca-Flores, Brandon Ryan Osika, and Meloney Osika were arrested for allegedly running a fentanyl distribution ring in San Bernardino County, California. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-05-07

• A South Bay man pleaded guilty to selling dozens of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills to a drug dealer, which later caused a victim's overdose. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-05-12

• Federal prosecutors in the Central District of California announced filing 20 cases that year against alleged drug dealers who sold fentanyl causing fatal drug overdoses. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-05-15

Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary clinical utility is in pain management for cancer patients and those recovering from painful surgeries. Fentanyl is also used as a sedative for intubated patients. Depending on the method of delivery, fentanyl can be very fast acting and ingesting a relatively small quantity can cause overdose. Fentanyl works by activating μ-opioid receptors. Fentanyl is sold under the brand names Actiq, Duragesic, and Sublimaze, among others. Pharmaceutical fentanyl's adverse effects are similar to those of other opioids and narcotics including addiction, confusion, respiratory depression (which, if extensive and untreated, may lead to respiratory arrest), drowsiness, nausea, visual disturbances, dyskinesia, hallucinations, delirium, a subset of the latter known as "narcotic delirium", narcotic ileus, muscle rigidity, constipation, loss of consciousness, hypotension, coma, and death. Alcohol and other drugs (e.g., cocaine and heroin) can synergistically exacerbate fentanyl's side effects. Naloxone and naltrexone are opioid antagonists that reverse the effects of fentanyl. Fentanyl was first synthesized by Paul Janssen in 1959 and was approved for medical use in the United States in 1968. In 2015, 1,600 kilograms (3,500 pounds) were used in healthcare globally. As of 2017, fentanyl was the most widely used synthetic opioid in medicine; in 2019, it was the 278th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than a million prescriptions. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Fentanyl is contributing to an epidemic of synthetic opioid drug overdose deaths in the United States. From 2011 to 2021, deaths from prescription opioid (natural and semi-synthetic opioids and methadone) per year remained stable, while synthetic opioid (primarily fentanyl) deaths per year increased from 2,600 overdoses to 70,601. Since 2018, fentanyl and its analogues have been responsible for most drug overdose deaths in the United States, causing over 71,238 deaths in 2021. Fentanyl constitutes the majority of all drug overdose deaths in the United States since it overtook heroin in 2018. The United States National Forensic Laboratory estimates fentanyl reports by federal, state, and local forensic laboratories increased from 4,697 reports in 2014 to 117,045 reports in 2020. Fentanyl is often mixed, cut, or ingested alongside other drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Fentanyl has been reported in pill form, including pills mimicking pharmaceutical drugs such as oxycodone. Mixing with other drugs or disguising as a pharmaceutical makes it difficult to determine the correct treatment in the case of an overdose, resulting in more deaths. In an attempt to reduce the number of overdoses from taking other drugs mixed with fentanyl, drug testing kits, strips, and labs are available. Fentanyl's ease of manufacture and high potency makes it easier to produce and smuggle, resulting in fentanyl replacing other abused narcotics and becoming more widely used.

Web Search Results

• Facts about Fentanyl - DEA.gov

  There is significant risk that illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl. Because of its potency and low cost, drug dealers have been mixing fentanyl with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, increasing the likelihood of a fatal interaction. [...] Illicit fentanyl, primarily manufactured in foreign clandestine labs and smuggled into the United States through Mexico, is being distributed across the country and sold on the illegal drug market. Fentanyl is being mixed in with other illicit drugs to increase the potency of the drug, sold as powders and nasal sprays, and increasingly pressed into pills made to look like legitimate prescription opioids. Because there is no official oversight or quality control, these counterfeit pills often

• Federal Prosecutors File 20 Cases This Year Against Alleged Drug ...

  Published Time: 2025-05-15T12:25:02-04:00 Central District of California | Federal Prosecutors File 20 Cases This Year Against Alleged Drug Dealers Who Sold Fentanyl that Caused Fatal Drug Overdoses | United States Department of Justice Skip to main content Image 1 An official website of the United States government Here's how you know Here's how you know Image 2: Dot gov Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. [...] A South Bay man pleaded guilty today to selling dozens of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills to a drug dealer who later sold them to a victim who soon afterward suffered... May 12, 2025 Press Release Father-and-Son Duo from Westside Arrested on Federal Criminal Complaints Alleging Fentanyl Trafficking and Gun Sales [...] Kevin Lopez, 24, of Rancho Cucamonga, Jacqueline Carolina Fonseca-Flores, 24, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Brandon Ryan Osika, 22, of Ontario, were arrested May 7 on an indictment charging them with distribution of fentanyl to a person under the age of 21 resulting in death, among other federal drug crimes. The defendants – including Meloney Osika, 24, of Ontario, who also was arrested May 7 – allegedly ran a fentanyl distribution ring in San Bernardino County. Lopez, Flores, and Brandon Osika in

• [PDF] Financial Trend Analysis Fentanyl-Related Illicit Finance - FinCEN

  • Fentanyl Traffickers in United States Primarily Deal in Cash and Peer-to-Peer Transfers: Domestic sales of fentanyl appear to be conducted primarily in cash and peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, which were referenced in 54 and 51 percent of BSA reports, respectively. P2P transfers often included payment memos containing drug-related euphemisms that enabled BSA filers to detect suspicious activity. In addition, BSA reporting of CVC-related transactions primarily identified bitcoin payments, [...] operating in the United States. FinCEN analysis noted certain BSA filings by MSBs identified suspicious activity involving U.S.-based subjects arrested for allegedly trafficking various types of narcotics including fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. In addition, BSA reports with Dominican Republic-based subjects referenced online pharmacies suspected of facilitating the sale of counterfeit opioid pills often laced with fentanyl.26 BSA reporting also highlighted India’s role as a [...] translated as “straw buyers”), conducted suspected precursor chemical payments, according to BSA reporting. Filers often cited the use of generic payment instructions (i.e., “goods” or “services”) and sporadic periods of account dormancy (i.e. limited transactional activity beyond a one- to two-month window of conducting suspicious chemical-related payments).19 BSA reporting also identified instances in which networks of Mexico-based individuals concentrated in certain areas—such as Culiacan,

• Imposing Duties to Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our ...

  Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the world’s leading producers of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illicit drugs, and they cultivate, process, and distribute massive quantities of narcotics that fuel addiction and violence in communities across the United States. These DTOs often collaborate with transnational cartels to smuggle illicit drugs into the United States, utilizing clandestine airstrips, maritime routes, and overland corridors.

• 2 Drug Trafficking Organization Members Plead Guilty to Fentanyl ...

  According to the investigation, from approximately January 2014 through September 2020, Thomas Padovano and Bartholomew Padovano and other members of a drug trafficking organization agreed to import and distribute various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, methylone, and ketamine. Members of the conspiracy placed orders with a source in China and agreed to distribute, and did distribute, the controlled substances and analogues in [...] On Dec. 18, Thomas Padovano, 50, and Bartholomew Padovano, 72, of Newark, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark. [...] NEWARK, N.J. — Two New Jersey men admitted their respective roles as members of a drug trafficking organization responsible for the importation and distribution of hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl analogues following an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark.