WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl-laced pills from California to the DMV area, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

Ronte Ricardo Greene, 29, also known as “Cardiddy,” was sentenced to 108 months behind bars and five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly for his role in a large-scale drug distribution conspiracy.

Greene pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams of fentanyl. He was among 24 individuals arrested in 2023 across Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Los Angeles, and San Diego in connection with the operation.

According to court documents, Greene joined the conspiracy in 2022 after being introduced to a Los Angeles-based wholesaler of counterfeit fentanyl pills. He traveled to Southern California to obtain the pills and then transported them back to the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region, where he sold them to local buyers.

Greene was arrested on November 15, 2023, in possession of approximately 100 fentanyl-laced pills. Investigators also noted that Greene posted images of himself holding stacks of cash on social media, allegedly celebrating the profits from his trafficking activities.

The case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, which included the DEA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Metropolitan Police Department, and other federal and local partners.

Greene was a key link in a fentanyl pipeline bringing counterfeit pills from California to the East Coast.

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