Five defendants have been sentenced in a wide-ranging federal drug trafficking case involving the distribution of fentanyl and heroin through the U.S. mail, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Federal prosecutors said the final defendant was sentenced on January 7, bringing the case to a close after a multi-year investigation into an opioid trafficking operation that used the internet and cryptocurrency to sell drugs nationwide.
According to investigators, the case centered on a darknet vendor who sold fentanyl and other opioids online in exchange for cryptocurrency. The drugs were shipped through the U.S. Postal Service, with parcels originating from Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Undercover agents began making controlled purchases from the vendor in late 2022, which later tested positive for fentanyl.
A search warrant executed in February 2023 at the vendor’s residence led to the seizure of cash, electronic devices, drug ledgers, cryptocurrency storage wallets, and controlled substances. Authorities said the ledgers contained nearly 1,000 entries dating back to 2021, documenting shipments to customers in 49 states and overseas.
Investigators identified Tony Oliver as the source of the narcotics. Prosecutors said that even after Oliver was arrested on unrelated state charges in New Jersey in January 2023, he continued to run the drug operation from prison by communicating with co-conspirators through recorded jail calls.
Federal authorities documented multiple fentanyl transactions in 2023 involving the group, including several sales of approximately 50 grams of fentanyl each. The investigation culminated in Oliver’s arrest in September 2023 after he traveled to Pennsylvania and was stopped in a vehicle carrying more than 100 grams of fentanyl.
- Kyon Watson: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin; sentenced on January 7, 2026, to 66 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 4 years of supervised release.
- Tony K. Oliver a/k/a “LZ”: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl and heroin, sentenced on April 1, 2025, to 151 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release;
- Rosa E. Duran: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, sentenced on September 9, 2025, to 24 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release;
- Dewayne A. Hutton: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, sentenced on May 13, 2025, to 51 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release; and
- Janny Calderon-Rodriguez: distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, sentenced on February 4, 2025, to 24 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Agents learned that although Tony K. Oliver was arrested on January 16, 2023, in Paterson, New Jersey, on an unrelated state case, he engaged in communications with Duran, Rodriguez, Hutton, and Watson, over recorded prison communications, to continue to operate his drug trafficking organization from behind bars. From prison, Oliver, Duran, Hutton, Watson, and Rodriguez, conspired to continue drug sales and drug deliveries, more specifically on February 24, 2023 (sale of 52 grams of fentanyl in exchange for $5,500 dollars),
March 28, 2023 (sale of 50 grams of fentanyl in exchange for $5,200 dollars),
May 16, 2023 (sale of 53 grams of fentanyl in exchange for $5,000 dollars),
July 12, 2023 (sale of 50 grams of fentanyl in exchange for $5,000 dollars), ultimately culminating in the arrest of Oliver, who had just recently been released from his January 16, 2023, New Jersey case, and who traveled on September 26, 2023, to the Middle District of Pennsylvania where he was stopped in a vehicle with 101 grams of fentanyl.
