Louisiana Drug Trafficker Sentenced to More than 19 Years in Connection with Distribution of 2lbs+ of Fentanyl

A Louisiana man was sentenced to 235 months (19 years, 7 months) in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute over 2.6 pounds of fentanyl as part of an investigation by the Middle District Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force.

On Tuesday, December 20, 2022, United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced the sentencing of 49-year-old Victor Welton of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as part of Operation Going Back to Cali, an extensive federal, state, and local investigation by the Middle District Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) targeting a drug trafficking network stretching from Compton, California, through Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Miami, Florida.

Welton was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison by Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute over 2.6 pounds of fentanyl. Welton must additionally serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.

Welton agreed with co-conspirators in Baton Rouge, Compton, and Miami to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl throughout the Middle District of Louisiana and elsewhere, according to admissions made as part of his guilty plea. Welton employed other individuals to transfer fentanyl from California, Louisiana, and Florida to a narcotics dealer in Miami.

Welton arranged for two of the individuals he used to transport fentanyl between Compton, Baton Rouge, and Miami to pick up fentanyl in Compton on June 21, 2020. The two individuals traveled by flight to California and used Greyhound Bus services to return to Baton Rouge beginning on June 24, 2020. Both couriers arrived at the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the early morning hours of June 24, 2020. At that time, law enforcement greeted them with a search warrant for their person and luggage. Three zip lock bags containing a white powdery substance were confiscated by law enforcement. Each bag’s contents were identified as fentanyl by the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory, with a total weight of approximately 2.6 pounds. Law enforcement then arrested the two couriers.

Chief Judge Dick cited the grave danger posed by fentanyl and Welton’s role as the leader of a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving at least four co-conspirators when justifying Welton’s 235-month sentence.

This operation is part of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that pose a threat to the United States by employing a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency strategy that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office led this investigation. Paul L. Pugliese, an assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuted this case.