California man sentenced to 18 years for trafficking thousands of fentanyl pills into Virginia

Odyssey Fields
·2 min read
California man sentenced to 18 years for trafficking thousands of fentanyl pills into Virginia

ABINGDON, Va. (WFXR) — A man from California has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for trafficking thousands of fentanyl pills into Southwest Virginia.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) says 24-year-old Robert Contreras, from Buena Park, California, also known as “Quill,” supplied as many as 30,000 pressed fentanyl pills a week to people, who then shipped them into Southwest Virginia.

Contreras previously pled guilty to conspiring to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

“Fentanyl, especially in the form of pressed pills, is taking its toll on America, and Virginia is no exception. This case, involving the collaboration of law enforcement agencies across the country, is a prime example of the proactive measures undertaken by this Department of Justice to combat the burgeoning pressed pill epidemic currently plaguing our nation,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said today.

According to court documents, between 2020 and 2023, Contreras sold between 10,000 and 30,000 pressed fentanyl pills to his alleged co-conspirator Marco Orozco at least once a week. In late 2021 and early 2022, Contreras sold Orozco 10,000 pressed fentanyl pills several times per week.

The DOJ says the pills were shipped to Southwest Virginia and other locations across the country for further distribution. Orozco then used various social media platforms to facilitate their drug trade.

On March 6, 2023, authorities served a warrant at Contreras’ home in California. During the search officers seized the following:

  • 1,639 pressed fentanyl pills

  • $31,294 in cash

  • five firearms without serial numbers

  • Approximately 7,000 alprazolam pills

  • 3,000 Adderall pills

  • 242 grams of cocaine

  • other hallucinogenic narcotics

In addition to his prison time, Conteras was ordered to forfeit five guns and $31,294.

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