TOLEDO — A Lima man described by federal authorities as a large-scale drug dealer has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for the distribution of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and other Schedule I controlled substances in and around Lima.
Loyd Turks Jr., 26, pleaded guilty to the charges in October in the Ohio Northern District U.S. District Court in Toledo. He was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Jack Zouhary.
“This case illustrates that our message bears repeating: fentanyl and fentanyl analogues are mixed into other drugs, including heroin and cocaine, which increases the likelihood that fatal overdoses will result,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan. “We will continue to seek significant prison sentences for those who distribute this poison in our communities.”
On Aug. 22, 2017, law enforcement agents received information from two people that Turks was a drug dealer in Lima who sold large quantities of illegal narcotics. The informants conducted a controlled buy of cocaine from Turks, and the next day, unbeknownst to law enforcement, one person contacted Turks and purchased what was believed to be heroin. The informant ingested the suspected heroin and subsequently overdosed. Emergency crews arrived and administered Narcan, and the individual was revived.
That person told law enforcement Turks had forced him to ingest the substance in order to prove that he was not working with law enforcement.
The informant agreed to recontact Turks and request to buy the same substance that had caused the overdose. On Aug. 24, 2017, a meeting was arranged to complete the transaction, and upon his arrival, Turks was arrested. Investigators searched Turks and found in his possession a white powdery substance. The substance found on Turks, the sample taken from the scene of the overdose and the blood sample of the person all tested positive for a mixture of U47700 and fentanyl analogues.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force.
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