A 31-year-old Minnesota man was sentenced to life in prison for a drug trafficking scheme that killed 11 people and seriously injured four others.
In a Sept. 12 statement from the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger bemoaned the damage caused by Aaron Broussard’s illegal trafficking of the addictive narcotic fentanyl and the subsequent poisoning of at least 15 people.
“Eleven lives lost. Families, friends, and communities forever changed by the devastation brought on by Aaron Broussard’s deadly fentanyl,” Luger said. “Although the trauma felt by the victims can never be undone and the true cost can never be calculated, Mr. Broussard will now spend the remainder of his life behind bars.”
Aaron Broussard worked with China-based drug suppliers to smuggle fentanyl into the U.S. He marketed the drugs on his Web site claiming to sell plant food, causing 11 fatal overdoses.
Minnesota doesn’t have the death penalty, so Broussard will spend his life lifting weights. pic.twitter.com/SlWEpb4Hjt
— Xeriland (@Xeriland) September 15, 2022
In the DOJ statement, Justin King, a special agent at the Drug Enforcement Administration, warned drug dealers they will be punished for destroying people’s lives.
“Let today’s sentencing serve as a wakeup call to the drug traffickers pushing fentanyl in and around our communities,” King said. “A mere two milligrams of fentanyl, equivalent in size to a few grains of salt, is enough to potentially kill a person.
“The threat of fentanyl is real, and the traffickers pushing this deadly substance will be held accountable for the lives they’ve taken, the families they’ve hurt and the communities they’ve devastated,” he said.
From 2014 through 2016, Broussard obtained controlled substances, including fentanyl, from China-based drug suppliers and smuggled them into the United States, according to prosecutors.
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He peddled these drugs on his website, PlantFoodUSA.net, under the guise of selling “plant food.” He then mailed the drugs to customers around the country.
“On March 12, 2016, Broussard placed a drug order for 100 grams of 4-FA, a controlled substance analogue, which was shipped from China,” according to the DOJ. “The package actually contained 100 grams of 99% pure fentanyl.
“Although Broussard had experienced a similar mix-up in August 2015 and was repeatedly told to test his drugs, he did not do so. Between March 31 and April 27, 2016, Broussard sent his branded packages containing fentanyl to more than a dozen customers throughout the United States.”
The customers had ordered what they believed was a generic version of the amphetamine Adderall. Instead, they received pure fentanyl.
“They were not opiate users and had no tolerance for the deadly fentanyl Broussard sent them,” prosecutors said. “After ingesting the fentanyl, believing it was Adderall, eleven of the customers died from a fentanyl overdose, and at least four customers suffered serious bodily injury.”
Prosecutors said Broussard continued to sell his deadly fentanyl packages even after learning about the adverse reactions his customers had suffered.
On March 31, a jury convicted Broussard on 17 counts, including conspiracy and distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
In sentencing Broussard to life in prison, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said, “Your disregard for human life is terrifying.”
Fentanyl poisoning has quickly become a horrifying epidemic ravaging the nation.
In April, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram warned that “fentanyl is killing Americans at an unprecedented rate.”
She said “drug traffickers are driving addiction, and increasing their profits, by mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs. Tragically, many overdose victims have no idea they are ingesting deadly fentanyl, until it’s too late.”
Massive amounts of fentanyl enter the U.S. through its unsecured southern border.
In a Tuesday statement, the DEA announced it had seized more than 10.2 million fentanyl pills and 980 pounds of fentanyl powder in the past three months.
“Of the 390 cases investigated during this period, 51 cases are linked to overdose poisonings and 35 cases link directly to one or both of the primary Mexican cartels responsible for the majority of fentanyl in the United States — the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,” the agency said.
The former head of Cartel del Golfo was sentenced to life in federal prison for his role in conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States. pic.twitter.com/3qpi8l04hl
— ICE (@ICEgov) September 28, 2022
9/19 CBP officers at the Nogales POE discovered approx. 36,800 fentanyl pills, 4.85 lbs of fentanyl powder & 5.15 lbs of cocaine in the gas tank of a vehicle. Great teamwork with K9, scanning technology team working together to keep these dangerous drugs from reaching the streets pic.twitter.com/2bUtHD0pvm
— Port Director Michael W. Humphries (@CBPPortDirNOG) September 20, 2022
Democrats such as former President Barack Obama have slammed critics of unfettered illegal immigration as racist while ignoring the deadly consequences of an unsecured border.
In reality, strong border security is the first line of defense in the war on illegal drugs.
How many more American lives must be sacrificed on the altar of the left’s woke agenda?
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