FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas said that three members of a drug trafficking group were given sentences of more than 47 years in federal jail for fentanyl trafficking.
Newport’s Claude Dukes, Jr., 42, was given 25 years in prison and five years of controlled release for planning to sell more than 400 grams of a substance or mixture that contained fentanyl. WDAR said Dukes’ punishment was longer because he had a history of criminal behavior.
For selling a drug or mixture that contained fentanyl, Justin Alexander Ellis, 36, of Fayetteville, was given a sentence of more than 14 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Ellis’s term was also lengthened because he had a history of convictions.
Bradley, 43, of Rogers was given eight years in prison and three years of controlled release for selling a substance or mixture that contained fentanyl.
Between November 2022 and June 2023, the group was selling fentanyl pills. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) looked into the group.
The evidence given at Dukes’ trial showed that Ellis got the fentanyl he was giving out from him. More than 400 grams of fentanyl were found to have been spread by Dukes.
WDAR said the group gave out pills that looked like M-30 Oxycontin prescription pills but actually contained fentanyl.
The case was looked into by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Fayetteville with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fourth Judicial Drug Task Force, the Benton County Drug Unit, the Benton County Sheriff’s Department, the Bentonville Police Department, the Rogers Police Department, and the Newport Police Department.
Source: Three Arkansas Men Sentenced to Over 47 Years for Fentanyl Trafficking in Major Drug Crackdown
