ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Officials said they found 400,000 lethal doses of fentanyl when they busted a major drug operation linked to two houses in Lincoln Park and a third in Allen Park.
Robert Cortez Burrell, 52, of Allen Park, is accused of manufacturing and storing drugs at two houses in Lincoln Park and his personal home in Allen Park.
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DEA agents said they started to investigate Burrell in the fall of 2020. On Dec. 10, 2020, they searched all three houses and discovered more than 800 grams of fentanyl and more than 300 grams of heroin. They said some of the heroin and fentanyl had been mixed.
Agents also found a Sterling semi-automatic pistol, 15 rounds of .25-caliber ammunition, cutting and narcotics packaging materials, a half-kilo press with heroin residue, a grinder with fentanyl residue, a second grinder with heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl residue, as well as $15,000 cash.
Officials said Burrell was distributing fentanyl and heroin in Michigan and Ohio. Two milligrams is typically considered a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, so authorities said Burrell had about 400,000 lethal doses of the drug.
“Our office will vigorously pursue opioid traffickers who inject poisons like fentanyl and heroin into our community, and we will do all we can to stop them from continuing to destroy the lives of our friends, neighbors, and loved ones who suffer from substance addiction,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said.
Burrell was found guilty Thursday (Oct. 13) on charges of possessing fentanyl and heroin with the intent to distribute them, maintaining a drug premises, and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
His conviction came after a five-day trial in United States District Court. The jury took less than an hour to deliberate and return a guilty verdict.
Burrell is facing at least 10 years in prison, and could face a maximum sentence of life behind bars. He is expected to be sentenced early in 2023.