Brian Christopher Sims, Fentanyl Trafficking, Mississippi 2020

Grimy Times has learned that a Philadelphia man has been caught in a major fentanyl trafficking scheme. Brian Christopher Sims, 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl on May 26, 2024.

According to the investigation, Sims sold fentanyl to an individual on Church Street in Philadelphia on August 6, 7, and 16, 2019. The fentanyl sold by Sims consisted of over 31 separate, single-dose sublingual sprays that contained 200 micrograms each. The total amount of fentanyl sold was in excess of 300 grams.

Sims was charged in a three-count indictment that was filed on October 22, 2019. He will be sentenced by Judge Daniel P. Jordan III on August 21, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

The investigation was a result of a joint effort by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Assisting agencies included the Philadelphia Police Department, Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Neshoba County District Attorney’s Office, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Flowood Police Department, Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, Carthage Police Department, Union Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Louisville Police Department, Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the United States Marshals Service.

U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst praised the efforts of the investigators, saying, “This criminal endangered all of East Central Mississippi with one of the deadliest drugs in the world. This tiny amount of fentanyl could have killed approximately 150,000 people, or five times the population of Neshoba County alone.”

Sims' guilty plea is a significant blow to the fentanyl trafficking ring in the area. The OCDETF program, a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking, was instrumental in bringing Sims to justice.

The case highlights the dangers of fentanyl and the importance of cooperation among law enforcement agencies to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk is prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/pr/philadelphia-man-pleads-guilty-fentanyl-trafficking-0