Leader of Meth, Fentanyl Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a man who built a drug trafficking organization that brought hundreds of pounds of fentanyl and methamphetamine to the St. Louis area to 27 years in prison.

Stephen Griffin Jr., 51, received a 25-year sentence for the main case, filed in 2021, and two more years for violating his supervised release in a 2015 heroin trafficking case.

In all, 20 people were indicted. Griffin’s top lieutenant, Troy Mills, 22, was also sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison on meth and fentanyl conspiracy charges and a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Crystal Miller, 37, of Florissant, who ran stash houses, was sentenced in December of 2023 to 20 years in prison. Twelve others have been sentenced. The remaining five defendants will be sentenced in October and November.

During the investigation, investigators seized about 39 firearms, 499 pounds of meth, 22 pounds of heroin, 49 pounds of fentanyl, four vehicles, ammunition, and more than $500,000 in assets.

Griffin pleaded guilty in April to two counts of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He admitted being part of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that brought meth and fentanyl from Arizona and California to the Eastern District of Missouri.

Initially, Griffin’s organization received meth and fentanyl in the mail, in multiple-kilogram packages, his plea agreement says. Those packages were taken to “stash” houses, where they were prepared for sale. Griffin and his co-conspirators also used a home health care business in a shopping center in Northwoods, Missouri as a base of operations where they coordinated shipments and sales of drugs, collected and stored drug proceeds, communicated with coconspirators, sources of supply and customers, and as a centrally located location to congregate between drug sales. Griffin’s organization later developed a second source of drugs in Arizona, and would obtain multiple-kilogram quantities of meth and fentanyl via the mail or couriers. Mills obtained drugs from Griffin and sold them to others.

In March of 2021, Griffin was arrested leaving a “stash” apartment with about one kilo of meth, a gun and multiple cell phones. Inside the apartment, investigators found about seven kilos of meth, 15 grams of fentanyl, a drug press and scales.

“Stephen Griffin rolled the dice when he started pushing fentanyl and methamphetamine in the St. Louis region,” Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis said. “His selfish greed destroyed families who were impacted by the fallout of his poisonous sales. Today, he faces the consequences of those actions. Griffin’s 21 years in federal prison will allow him plenty of time to reflect on the lives he ruined, including his own.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service mission is to protect the nation’s mail system.  With the collaborative efforts of our federal law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate those utilizing the U.S. Mail for illicit activities, including the distribution of narcotics.  Today’s sentencing reflects the diligent investigative work by Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners,” said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Casey is prosecuting the case. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.