Sebring Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Possessing with Intent to Distribute Over 8 Kilos of Fentanyl

MIAMI - On Nov. 7, Joseph Christopher Copeland, 57, was sentenced to 264 months in federal prison, to be followed by ten years' supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Copeland imported 8.9929 kilograms of fentanyl from Mexico to his residence in Sebring, Fla., using a vehicle with hidden compartments. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Highlands County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant on Copeland's residence and discovered the fentanyl partially unloaded from the vehicle, along with 111.6 grams of methamphetamine and two firearms.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA, Miami Field Division, and Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman made the announcement.

DEA Fort Pierce and Highlands County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hudock prosecuted it.

According to the DEA's National Drug Threat Assessment, synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl, are poisoning our nation. Fentanyl has proven to be a deadly poison that does not discriminate. Its victims include every gender, race, age, and economic background, and its debilitating effects are the same across all demographics. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Even in small doses, fentanyl can be deadly. Just one fentanyl pill can kill, as noted in DEA's One Pill Can Kill campaign. As little as two milligrams, about the size of 5 grains of salt, can be fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths. Over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The State of Florida has also seen an exponential increase in overdoses associated with fentanyl. In 2022, more than 5,622 people died from overdoses involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in Florida.

For more information visit: https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/MEC/Publications-and-Forms/Documents/Drugs-in-Deceased-Persons/2022-Annual-Drug-Report-FINAL-(1).aspx; https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/fentanyl.html#; and https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fentanyl.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-14017.

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