Kristofer Rucinski, Fentanyl Importation, Virginia 2018

Abingdon, VA – A Wise County resident has pleaded guilty to importation-related charges involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.

Kristofer Rucinski, 35, of Wise, Virginia, entered a guilty plea today in the United States District Court in Abingdon to one count of using a communications facility to unlawfully import fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.

United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen stated that fentanyl and other deadly opioids have contributed to a public-health crisis in Western Virginia and that his office will continue to prosecute those who attempt to import these and other deadly drugs into the United States.

Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee presented evidence at the guilty plea hearing that Rucinski ordered and attempted to order fentanyl analogues over the internet to be delivered to his residence in Wise. Customs and Border Patrol officers intercepted a package sent from China containing a quantity of a fentanyl analogue addressed to Rucinski’s address on February 15, 2018.

A controlled delivery of the package was made on February 21, 2018, at Rucinski’s residence, which resulted in a search warrant being executed at his residence and his subsequent arrest. Additional analogue substances were located in the residence.

Rucinski was interviewed by law enforcement and admitted to ordering these drugs off the internet and using Bitcoin to pay for the drugs.

Rucinski faces a potential maximum sentence of four years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 11, 2018.

The investigation of the case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Patrol, United States Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Wise Police Department, and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee will prosecute the case for the United States.

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