Florence, South Carolina — Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that Fernando Contreras-Herrera, 25, and Cesar Inda-Silva, 25, both from Mexico, were each sentenced to eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Evidence presented to the Court showed that, on January 22, 2021, officers with the Myrtle Beach Police Department intercepted a shipped package with indicators of narcotics. A subsequent search revealed that the shipping box contained an inner box. Inside that box was a locked safe, and inside the safe were three wrapped “bricks” consistent with kilogram quantities of narcotics.
After replacing several of the bricks with “sham” narcotics, law enforcement repackaged the parcel and conducted a controlled delivery of the parcel to its intended address in Myrtle Beach. Contreras-Herrera retrieved the package from the porch of the house and Inda-Silva arrived immediately after that.
Law enforcement then executed a search warrant at the address. Contreras-Herrera and Inda-Silva were located in the living room of the home together with the package which had just been delivered. In the minutes since the delivery, the inner and outer boxes of the package and the safe had been opened, the “bricks” had been removed, and one of the “bricks” had been slit open. The suspected controlled substance intercepted was later confirmed to be just over three kilograms of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. Further investigation revealed that Contreras-Herrera and Inda-Silva were to receive the fentanyl and deliver it to another individual.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Contreras-Herrera and Inda-Silva each to 96 months in federal prison, to be followed by a four-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. During the sentencing hearing, Judge Lydon commented on the dangers of fentanyl, and noted that it was fortunate the fentanyl in this case was now off the streets.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Horry County Police Department, Myrtle Beach Police Department, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Flynn of the Florence office prosecuted the case. This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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