A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl pills he manufactured in a makeshift lab inside a laundry room.
According to the court documents, in April 2022, the Fayetteville Police Department became aware of the drug distribution activities of 30-year-old Quavion Maurice Pickett. An observation of Pickett’s home in Fayetteville revealed what appeared to be multiple drug deals executed by the suspect.
When police searched Pickett’s Fayetteville home, they found a counterfeit pill-making operation in the laundry room. The room possessed a pill press, large plastic tote containers covered in light blue powder residue, multiple digital scales, multiple knotted plastic baggies containing pressed tablets, plastic baggies, a blender covered in powder residue, various full and empty bags containing different colored cutting agents, a money counter covered in powder residue, various metal hand tools, a funnel, pill press die molds, loose blue tablets, and a baggie containing yellow, white, and blue tablets, according to police.
In a bedroom of the home, police found baggies containing 157 pressed pills, over $70,000 in cash in a shoe box, a loaded.45 caliber handgun, and a jar and baggie containing an unspecified amount of marijuana. An additional $1,760 was found on Pickett.
According to police, the amount of fentanyl seized from the residence totaled 3.1 kilos of fentanyl. The fentanyl pills seized had pressed markings of “A215,” designed to appear to be oxycodone hydrochloride 30-milligram pills.
A further investigation revealed that Pickett had purchased the pill press used in this operation about eight months prior to his arrest. He also purchased multiple kilograms of fentanyl that were used for making the pills.
“The Fayetteville Police Department continues to work collaboratively with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners; we continue to aggressively combat narcotic trafficking affecting our community,” said Kemberle Braden, Fayetteville Chief of Police.
Pickett was officially arrested at a home in South Carolina in October of 2022. During that arrest, police seized a duffle bag with 11 baggies containing a total of 19,016 pressed fentanyl pills inside, as well as two baggies of fentanyl powder weighing approximately 294.85 grams, a sifter, a grinding bowl, three plastic containers with powder residue, and drug packaging materials. A digital scale, marijuana, two cell phones, and $5,525 in cash were also seized.
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According to police, Pickett was responsible for the distribution of 8,706.98 grams of fentanyl and 10.50 grams of marijuana between September 2021 and October 2022. He also imprinted the pills with specific numbers associated with prescription pills for distribution, as well as text messages seized from Pickett’s cellphone. The Court found that Pickett knowingly misrepresented a substance containing fentanyl as something other than fentanyl.
He pleaded guilty on April 24, 2024.
“Counterfeit pills made with deadly fentanyl in filthy makeshift labs are turning up everywhere. This trafficker was caught with three kilos of fentanyl, a high-capacity pill press, cash, and tens of thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “These pills are made with zero quality control, with narcotics being mixed in plastic bins and store-bought blenders by reckless, money-hungry narcotics dealers who care only about money and care nothing for human life. Never, ever, take a pill bought on the street or online that isn’t prescribed by a real doctor. You are gambling with your life.”
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