Supplier Sentenced in Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy
On March 15, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman sentenced Monica Troche to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for her role in a wide-ranging synthetic opioid trafficking conspiracy. At the time of her arrest, federal prosecutors noted Troche was responsible for distributing over one kilogram of fentanyl—an amount with the potential to kill 500,000 people, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—and 500 grams of cocaine.
According to court documents, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) following a fatal overdose by fentanyl in September 2018. The investigation yielded over 1.8 kilograms of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, over 3.6 kilograms of cocaine and over 50 grams of crack cocaine, as well as a stolen, loaded handgun, drug processing equipment and over $376,000. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) joined the operation with assistance from local and state law enforcement.
Troche pleaded guilty late last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams of fentanyl and nearly 800 grams of cocaine. Troche also pleaded guilty to five counts of distribution and possession of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Troche was charged along with 17 others in July 2020 and was the eighth defendant to plead guilty.
Since 2014, synthetic opioids have been a primary driver of overdose deaths in the U.S., reaching over 100,000 fatalities over a 12-month period in 2021. Congress tapped the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, established under Section 7221 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 (S.1790), to examine aspects of the synthetic opioid threat to the United States. The final report of the Commission–co-chaired by Rep. David Trone (D-MD) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)–incorporated action items for executive agencies to address deficiencies in the federal prevention of synthetic opioid production and distribution.
The Commission categorized its robust recommendations according to their expected impact on reducing overdose deaths and disrupting the distribution of synthetic opioids:
Empower USPIS to identify, track, and disrupt attempts to illegally distribute synthetic opioids via the mail;
Enhance border screening by promoting advanced technology;
Increase social media monitoring to identify and remove posts by illicit drug or precursor suppliers, and ask social media platforms to identify online vendors of precursor chemicals and finished synthetic opioid products;
Provide resources to evaluate potential new approaches to overdose prevention aimed at different populations; and,
Evaluate barriers, whether regulatory or otherwise, to accessing mental health and substance-use disorder (SUD) treatment.
The findings illustrated in the Commission’s report were highlighted earlier this week in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight hearing on evolving threats in drug trafficking. Chairwoman Margaret Hassan (D-NH) noted a consensus among her colleagues Reps. Ann Kuster (D-NH) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) and witnesses included a discrepancy between individuals addressing fentanyl–namely either the number of dedicated staff or personnel assigned to tasks that do not align with their skillset–and the necessary resources to make a meaningful difference to combat the sale and spread of fentanyl and related substances.
Currently, the DEA has a temporary emergency scheduling order classifying fentanyl and related substances as a schedule 1 substance. Congress extended the order through 2022 in recent appropriations legislation; however, law enforcement stakeholders have continued to push for permanent scheduling.
Without a class-wide scheduling of fentanyl, prosecutors cannot effectively prosecute fentanyl cases as they must prove that the substance in question is chemically substantially similar to fentanyl and that the drug trafficker was aware of this.
In a letter calling for Congress to take a variety of actions on fentanyl, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys (NAAUSA)–representatives for more than 6,000 career federal prosecutors–pointed to the feasibility of prosecuting offenses under the Controlled Substances Act (P.L. 91-513).
“Ultimately, NAAUSA urges lawmakers to realize that fentanyl is an active and devastating crisis for the American people. Permanent scheduling is necessary, now. Mandatory minimums for these offenders are not a problem, but a critical part of the solution. And additional research on these drugs can only enhance our position in the fight against addiction,“ NAAUSA President Steven Wasserman concluded.