DEL VALLE, Texas — A Central Texas man has been sentenced to 10 years in national prison after he was caught selling fake pills that were laced with fentanyl.
Del Valle resident Gabriel Cecilio Osorio, 22, was sentenced on Thursday after he was previously arrested in June 2023 for distributing counterfeit oxycodone pills, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas.
During an investigation between May and June 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) bought 100 pills from Osorio in one controlled transaction, and then 3,000 pills in a separate payment.
In June of that same year, Osorio was arrested outside of his home after the DEA executed a search warrant. Roughly 5,000 pills were found on Osorio at the time of the arrest, and a further search of the home revealed an additional 3,700 pills.
Agents also discovered $45,701 in cash, four firearms, a digital scale and a money counter in the home.
Following his arrest, Osorio was required to give up $45,701 and firearms and jewelry found in the investigation.
“Fentanyl poses a significant threat to communities across this district and the United States, and I am grateful to the many federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who join us in prioritizing these very serious drug crimes,” Western District of Texas U.S Attorney Jaime Esparza said.
Typically, oxycodone is used to help manage severe pain, but the drug is also commonly abused “among the narcotic abusing population,” according to the DEA.
If this or other drugs are laced with fentanyl, users might experience overdose symptoms such as clammy skin, comas and even death.