Maryland man sentenced for fentanyl distribution

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Sven Alston, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today to 58 months of incarceration for distributing fentanyl, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.

Alston, age 33, pleaded guilty in October 2019 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl.” Alston was found in a motel in Spring Mills, West Virginia, in November 2018 with 30 grams of fentanyl, 39 grams of a synthetic opiate known as U47700, and a cutting agent, as well as digital scales and plastic baggies. The amount of fentanyl seized was enough to kill more than 10,000 people. Other drugs were also found in the room, along with $9,600 in cash.

These charges are the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep.  This initiative seeks to reduce the supply of synthetic opioids in “hot spot” areas previously identified by the Attorney General of the United States, thereby reducing drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths, and identify wholesale distribution networks and sources of supply operating nationally and internationally. 

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.  The FBI; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; the Martinsburg Police Department; the Charles Town Police Department; and the Ranson Police Department investigated. The United States Marshals assisted.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.

Find the original case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/33-indicted-heroin-cocaine-and-fentanyl-distribution-operation-berkeley-and-jefferson