Federal Jury Finds Apopka Man Guilty Of Attempted Possession Of Furanyl Fentanyl

Orlando, FL – A federal jury today found Devin Lashawn Jefferson, II (22, Apopka) guilty of attempted possession with intent to distribute of furanyl fentanyl. Jefferson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 2018.

Jefferson was indicted on March 21, 2018. 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, between February and December 2017, Jefferson sent tens of thousands of dollars to recipients in China.  In April 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in New York intercepted a package from China that was addressed to an Apopka residence that had been associated with Jefferson. The package contained approximately 1 kilogram of furanyl fentanyl. On February 27, 2018, agents conducted a controlled delivery of the package, and Jefferson retrieved it from the residence. When agents attempted to stop Jefferson, he fled in his car at a high rate of speed thru a school zone and escaped. He was apprehended approximately two weeks later. 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Orlando Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Embry J. Kidd and Dana E. Hill.