Anthony Allen, Methamphetamine Distribution, West Virginia 2023

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – In a significant blow to the state’s drug trade, Anthony Allen, a 36-year-old man from Rosenberg, Texas, has admitted to his role in a methamphetamine distribution operation in West Virginia. United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced the plea, which marks a major victory for law enforcement in the region.

Allen, who faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000, pleaded guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances.” He admitted to working with others to distribute methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin from the Spring of 2018 until October 2020.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zelda E. Wesley and Sarah E. Wagner are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI’s Northern West Virginia Drug Task Force in partnership with the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. The Task Forces have members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; West Virginia State Police; Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office; and, the Morgantown, WVU, Granville and Star City Police Departments.

The investigation was also assisted by the following law enforcement partners: the Monongalia County Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI in Houston, Texas; the Houston Police Department’s Multi Agency Gang Initiative; the United States Postal Inspection Service in Houston; and, the FBI and DEA in Los Angeles, California.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided over the case.

The investigation and prosecution of Allen’s case highlights the significant efforts being made by law enforcement agencies to combat the opioid epidemic and disrupt the flow of illicit substances in the region. The success of this case serves as a reminder that law enforcement will continue to work tirelessly to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the networks responsible for the distribution of these deadly substances.

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