Final co-conspirator ordered to prison for dark web pill manufacturing and distribution ring

Press Release

HOUSTON - A 37-year-old Houston man has been sentenced for his role in operating an illicit manufacturing and distribution ring of pills containing meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Marco Juarez pleaded guilty June 16, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller has now imposed a 120-month-term of imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release.

Alexander Fernandez, 33, Christopher Houser, 36, and Alexis Sandoval, 26, all of Houston, also pleaded guilty and were previously sentenced. The leader - Fernandez - received 20 years, while Houser and Sandoval were ordered to serve respective terms of 36 and 120 months. In handing down the sentences, Judge Miller noted the serious nature of distributing pills to customers who were unaware that what they believed to be Adderall in fact contained meth.

"These conspirators manufactured and distributed large quantities of fake Adderall pills that actually contained meth in order to make money at the expense of the health and safety of others," said Hamdani. "The public must be aware that while counterfeit pills may look like legitimate prescription drugs, they may actually contain a deadly controlled substance. Instead of ingesting quality-controlled products of a heavily regulated prescription drug industry, users of counterfeit drugs may be putting powerful crystal meth into their bodies, which leads to increased addiction rates and health risks."

"Trafficking counterfeit prescription medications laced with deadly and highly addictive narcotics is extremely dangerous and has been a major contributor to the ongoing drug epidemic that is destroying communities across the country," said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Kurtz. "Leveraging HSI's unique cross-border authorities and extensive expertise in cyber and narcotics investigations, we were able to pierce the veil of anonymity that these drug traffickers falsely believed they possessed by operating on the dark web to expose their conspiracy and hold them accountable for their actions."

In 2020, law enforcement discovered Fernandez was ordering pill press machines, pill stamps, dyes and bulking agents frequently used in illicit pill manufacturing.

The investigation revealed the ring was manufacturing the pills within local residences - first on Yale Street in the Houston Heights neighborhood and later at two separate locations in Fulshear.

Fernandez was behind the logistics of the pill manufacturing ring while Juarez supplied the organization with the meth used as the active ingredients. Houser produced the pills using the pill press machines. Sandoval was responsible for the packaging and mailing of pills from orders placed on the dark web.

A search warrant executed in October 2020 at the Fulshear manufacturing residence revealed approximately seven kilograms of "ice" meth and four kilograms of meth in the form of Adderall pills and powder.

Additionally, almost five kilograms of Adderall pills were found at a second Fulshear residence where they packaged the pills for mailing out to dark web buyers.

The pill press operation was also responsible for manufacturing and distributing "Alprazolam" pills containing Etizolam, a central nervous system depressant with sedative-hypnotic and muscle relaxant effects.

Juarez was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen M. Lansden prosecuted the case.

Updated December 2, 2024