Fentanyl Flood: Felon Nabbed in Panhandle

⏱ 3 min read

Scott Oranje, 52, is looking at serious time after admitting he was running a fentanyl operation out of his Mary Esther, Florida condo. Federal agents caught him red-handed November 10, 2025, with over 300 grams of the deadly opioid – enough to kill scores of people. The bust, part of the Trump-era “Operation Take Back America,” is the latest effort to choke off the fentanyl supply flooding the nation.

The setup was classic: a package containing the fentanyl was shipped to Oranje’s place. When he took delivery, agents moved in. But Oranje wasn’t going down easy. Cops had to breach his door, and he bolted through the patio, still clutching the drugs. He was quickly apprehended.

Inside the condo, the feds found a full-blown drug operation: a digital scale, drug paraphernalia, “owe sheets” – the records of who owed Oranje money – and several firearms. It wasn’t his first rodeo with the law either. Back in California, Oranje had already been convicted of first-degree residential robbery, landing him in state prison back in July 2018.

Oranje’s guilty plea covers possession with intent to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl, possession of a firearm during a drug crime, and being a convicted felon illegally possessing firearms. Sentencing details haven’t been released yet, but with that much fentanyl and a prior felony conviction, Oranje is facing a hefty chunk of federal time.