Missoula woman sentenced to thirteen years in prison for trafficking meth and fentanyl

MISSOULA — A Missoula woman who trafficked methamphetamine and fentanyl was sentenced today to 156 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Emily Svoboda, 31, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

The government alleged in court documents that on November 23, 2022, a confidential source purchased 100 fentanyl pills from Svoboda for $600. The source asked Svoboda if she had any “clear” – a slang term for meth – and Svoboda said she did not currently but likely would be resupplying later in the evening.  The confidential source asked for a “roll” of fentanyl pills (100), and Svoboda said she could provide that.  Svoboda had a bag of approximately 200 pills but was not willing to sell all of them.  Five days later, on November 28, 2022, the confidential source purchased 26.5 grams of methamphetamine and 50 fentanyl pills from Svoboda for $1,000.  And on December 9, 2022, Svoboda sold the source 53.7 grams of methamphetamine and 100 fentanyl pills for $1,400.  A review of Svoboda’s Facebook pages revealed messages related to drug transactions and she admitted to law enforcement she sold drugs. She said she received between two and four ounces of methamphetamine from a co-conspirator every two to four weeks from roughly September to December 2022.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.  The ATF, Missoula Police Department, and Missoula HIDTA conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.

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