Five Men Sentenced in Record-Breaking Fentanyl Bust

WILMINGTON, Del. – Five men have been sentenced in connection with the February 2016 seizure of over one kilogram of fentanyl, announced David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware.

According to court documents, these five men were arrested on February 11, 2016, at an industrial park on Albe Drive in Newark, Delaware, with approximately 48,800 bags of what appeared to be heroin. At the time, it was called the largest seizure of pre-packaged heroin in Delaware history. However, subsequent laboratory tests identified the substance as fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is many times more potent than heroin. The particular stamp, or brand, on these bags was linked to two overdoses in the area.

A bag of heroin is sold on the street in Delaware for approximately $10, making the total retail value of the seizure approximately $488,800.

For their roles in the drug trafficking activity, United States District Court Senior Judge Sue L. Robinson, imposed the following sentences:

Abdul Haye, 29, of Newark, Del. – 109 months

Amyra Haye, 30, of Bear, Del. – 109 months

Daniel Haye, 38, of Bear, Del. – 96 months

Julius Williams, 30, of Newark, Del. – 60 months

Cezar Mills, 41, of Bear, Del. – 24 months

Judge Robinson also sentenced each man to three (3) years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Acting U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss stated, “Highly addictive and potentially lethal opioids like fentanyl have become a public health crisis. I want to thank our New Castle County HIDTA partners for their aggressive investigation of this case and others like it. My office will continue to work hard to prosecute those who profit from these dangerous drugs."

“These defendants distributed a poison on our streets that destroyed numerous lives and families. For that, the penalties in federal court are severe,” said Gary Tuggle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division. “Unfortunately, there were 308 fatal overdose deaths in Delaware in 2016; 120 of which were from fentanyl. The seizure of these bags of fentanyl and the sentencings of these defendants, which came about as a result of the work of all the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that participated in this investigation has undoubtedly saved countless lives.”

This case is the product of an investigation conducted as part of the New Castle County HIDTA, which includes members from the following agencies: DEA, Delaware State Police, New Castle County Police Department, Newark Police Department, Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, Delaware Department of Corrections – Probation and Parole, and the Delaware Attorney General’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth L. Van Pelt prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.