Las Vegas man sentenced to 8 years for illegally selling opioid medication through mail

Caroline Bleakley
·1 min read

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas man who imported, processed and distributed nearly 300 pounds of an opioid pain medication was sentenced Friday in a federal court to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Christopher Housley, 51, used fake identifications to rent postal boxes around Las Vegas to receive opioid pain pills and erectile dysfunction medication from India and then created two shell companies to pay for the drugs and receive payments from the drug sales. In Jan. 2021, law enforcement seized medication, including 300,000 Tapentadol pills, destined for addresses linked to Housley.

I-Team: Las Vegas man illegally sold erectile dysfunction, opioid medication through the mail, drug agents say

In the fall of 2021, drug agents made undercover buys of opioid pain medication from a website. The return address on the packages was linked to Housley.

In May 2022, law enforcement searched a storage unit belonging to Housley (under a fake name) and found controlled substances, the release stated.

<em>Tapentadol, Alprazolam, and other controlled substances seized by law enforcement from a storage locker rented by Housley.</em> (U.S. Attorney’s Office)
Tapentadol, Alprazolam, and other controlled substances seized by law enforcement from a storage locker rented by Housley. (U.S. Attorney’s Office)

Housley pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, Tapentadol and 20 counts of money laundering.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.