Weld District Court Judge Timothy Kerns sentenced Andrew Durdy, a citizen of Greeley, Colorado, to 40 years in prison after police arrested him for possessing some 5,800 fentanyl pills for further distribution.
As reported last Friday by the county district attorney's office, Durdy "pled guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, and one count of Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl."
The Weld County Drug Task Force began investigating Durdy, 27, in 2021, when he trafficked the opioid and sold it to undercover agents. In addition, three packages containing more fentanyl from California were found on him.
According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia, the type of fentanyl Durdy was dealing was potentially lethal:
Any one of those pills could have killed someone. In short, [Durdy] profited by destroying other people's lives, and we will not tolerate this type of behavior in our community.
More lethal doses than citizens
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reported seizing approximately 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl during 2022. That is, more than the number of citizens living in the United States.
The fentanyl seized in the United States is manufactured in Mexico and synthesized with products from China. It is estimated that this artificial opioid is responsible for 77% of drug-related deaths among North American youth.
