Armed Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to Prison

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Matthew Olando Allen, 35, of Gastonia, N.C., was sentenced today to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for selling fentanyl and firearms, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

According to court records and proceedings, law enforcement initiated an investigation into Allen for distributing fentanyl in and around Cleveland County. Between February and April 2024, Allen sold fentanyl-laced pills to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. During one drug transaction, Allen sold the confidential informant 14 fentanyl pills and a Bryco Arms Jennings firearm. In April 2024, Shelby Police Department officers stopped Allen’s vehicle for a traffic violation. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement recovered from Allen a Canik 9mm pistol. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement found a Ruger SR22 firearm and more fentanyl pills. 

In February 2026, Allen pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. e i 

This investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Shelby Police Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case. 

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.