Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Lewiston Man Sentenced to Over Five Years for Furanyl Fentanyl Trafficking
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Nera James, also known as “King,” 39, of Lewiston, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 67 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possession with the intent to distribute furanyl fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue. James pled guilty on May 30, 2018.
Court records reveal that on December 20, 2016, and May 3, 2017, state and local law enforcement agencies seized distributable quantities of furanyl fentanyl from James and his Lewiston apartment, respectively. The latter search resulted in the seizure of about 601 “tickets” (dosage units) of furanyl fentanyl, $9,863, and three firearms.
The investigation was conducted by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the Lewiston and Auburn Police Departments; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force; and was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Strategy to Combat the Opioid Epidemic.
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