Louisiana man sentenced for trafficking fentanyl from California to Louisiana
A Louisiana man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a cross-country fentanyl trafficking network.
BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) - A Louisiana man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a cross-country fentanyl trafficking network.
Victor Welton, 49, of Baton Rouge, was sentenced to 235 months in prison following his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 2.6 pounds of fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Middle District of Louisiana.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said that around June 2020, Welton agreed with co-conspirators in Baton Rouge, Compton, Calif., and Miami, Fl. to distribute fentanyl in the middle district of Louisiana and elsewhere.
Welton used other people to travel between California, Louisiana, and Florida to transport fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
On June 21, 2020, Welton arranged for two people to travel to Compton and pick up fentanyl. Both couriers arrived back in Baton Rouge on June 24, 2020, and were greeted by law enforcement.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said that following a search of their persons and baggage, law enforcement seized over 2.6 pounds of fentanyl and the two couriers were then arrested.
When explaining the reasons to support the 235-month term of imprisonment for Welton, Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick commented on the significant danger of fentanyl, along with Welton’s role as the leader of a drug-trafficking conspiracy that involved at least four other co-conspirators.
This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul L. Pugliese.