Minnesota Man Sentenced for Fentanyl Possession

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that De'Shuan Whitfield, age 23, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was sentenced August 29, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for possessing five pounds of fentanyl. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Whitfield to 70 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.

On April 23, 2022, DEA Criminal Interdiction Unit investigators were at the Trailways Bus Station in Omaha when they observed Whitfield exit a bus and leave with an untagged suitcase. Whitfield was contacted and during the course of the conversation, investigators became suspicious of Whitfield due to the way he was acting and the things he said. Whitfield admitted that he had a marijuana dispensary bag. Whitfield opened his suitcase and investigators observed the marijuana dispensary bag. Whitfield also had a backpack. After seizing the marijuana in the suitcase, the backpack was searched. The backpack contained 40 plastic bags containing 4,444 grams of counterfeit M-30 pills. The pills were later tested, and it was determined that they contained fentanyl.

This case was investigated by the DEA and the Nebraska State Patrol.