ABINGDON, VA – Robert Contreras, a 23-year-old man from Buena Park, California, pled guilty to federal drug charges for his role in supplying a significant quantity of fentanyl pills to distributors in Southwest Virginia. Contreras, also known as “Quill,” admitted to conspiring to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh remarked on the case, emphasizing the severe impact of fentanyl, particularly pressed pills, on American communities, including Virginia. Kavanaugh noted that this case illustrates a successful effort to combat the fentanyl epidemic by tracing and prosecuting the supply chain of the drug.
From 2020 to 2023, Contreras sold between 10,000 and 30,000 pressed fentanyl pills weekly from his home to co-conspirator Marco Orozco, who further distributed them. This operation reached its peak in late 2021 and early 2022, with Contreras supplying large quantities of fentanyl multiple times per week.
During a search warrant executed at Contreras’ residence on March 6, 2023, law enforcement officers seized 1,639 pressed fentanyl pills, $31,294 in cash, five unserialized firearms, and significant quantities of alprazolam pills, Adderall pills, cocaine, and other hallucinogenic narcotics.
Contreras is scheduled for sentencing on February 22, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.