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Martinsburg Man Admits to Role in Heroin and Fentanyl Trafficking Ring
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Martinsburg man has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a heroin and fentanyl trafficking ring that spanned several states, according to authorities.
Sanford Fayton Venable, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of “Distribution of Forty Grams or More of a Heroin and Fentanyl Mixture.” Venable admitted to selling more than 40 grams of a heroin and fentanyl mixture in November 2019 in Berkeley County.
Venable also pleaded guilty to one count of “Distribution of 28 grams or More of Cocaine Base,” also known as “crack,” in August 2019 in Berkeley County. He faces at least five years and up to 40 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $5,000,000 for each count.
The case is the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep. This initiative seeks to reduce the supply of synthetic opioids in “hot spot” areas previously identified by the Attorney General of the United States.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, are prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
Venable is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble. The plea agreement was reached in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia.
The case highlights the ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in West Virginia and across the country. The OCDETF Program is a key component of this effort, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States.
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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