Dazaughn Ellis West, Fentanyl Trafficking, Minnesota 2023

Fentanyl Trafficking Plague Hits Brainerd

A 28-year-old Brainerd man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute thousands of fentanyl pills, leaving residents of the Brainerd Lakes Area on high alert.

According to court documents, on August 1, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a storage unit in Brainerd that belonged to Dazaughn Ellis West. Inside the unit, officers found between 13,000 and 15,000 pressed fentanyl pills, weighing approximately 2.8 pounds.

Law enforcement also executed a search warrant at West’s home in Brainerd, where they found an additional 150 grams of fentanyl pills, a loaded semi-automatic pistol, a .22 caliber rifle, and distributable quantities of cocaine.

West pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. West’s co-defendant, Devaughn Ellis West, is scheduled to plead guilty on August 19, 2024.

Sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later date, leaving the community waiting with bated breath to see what sentence will be handed down.

The investigation was a joint effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, Brainerd Police Department, and the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division (LADID).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren O. Roso is prosecuting the case.

The fentanyl trafficking epidemic has been a growing concern in the Brainerd Lakes Area, and this guilty plea serves as a reminder of the dangers of these deadly pills.

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