Dayten Abram, Fentanyl Trafficking, Indiana 2023

Muncie, IN – In a shocking case of brazen disregard for public safety, 22-year-old Dayten Abram of Muncie has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in armed fentanyl trafficking. The case highlights the growing threat of fentanyl on American streets.

According to court documents, Abram was under investigation by the Muncie Police Department on March 16, 2023, for suspected drug trafficking offenses. At approximately 1:09 PM, officers stopped Abram after he committed multiple traffic violations. As an officer approached the car, he could smell burnt marijuana and saw a handgun on the driver’s side floorboard, near a BMV receipt with Abram’s name on it.

A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of $8,749 in cash, the loaded Glock 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, and 1,526 fentanyl pills containing 213.6 grams of the drug. The DEA warns that as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, depending on a person’s body size, tolerance, and past usage.

Seven out of ten illegal fentanyl tablets seized from U.S. streets and analyzed by the DEA have been found to contain a potentially lethal dose of the drug. Abram was arrested and charged in Delaware County, and later released.

On April 27, 2023, while out on bond for the pending state charges, Abram was recorded by law enforcement officers dealing another 503 fentanyl pills to another person, containing 54.7 grams of the narcotic. Abram was subsequently charged in this federal case.

“Undeterred after being caught red-handed with over 1,500 deadly fentanyl pills and a loaded handgun, this criminal continued to push his poison into Muncie’s neighborhoods while out on bond,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “Fentanyl traffickers care more about making money than they care about the lives destroyed or ended by their deadly product.”

The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker. U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry D. Glickman, who prosecuted this case.