Fresno Man Sentenced in Major Opioid Scheme

Kelo White, a 44-year-old Fresno man, was sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison for conspiring with pharmacist Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu and Donald Ray Pierre to distribute over 450,000 opioid pills—including oxycodone and hydrocodone—using forged prescriptions from more than ten doctors between 2014 and 2018. White was directly responsible for distributing over 250,000 pills, which were filled at New Life Pharmacy in Madera with Ntukogu's assistance; Ntukogu reviewed prescriptions to avoid detection and was paid in cash. Ntukogu and Pierre received sentences of seven years and three months, and nine years and four months, respectively. The operation generated significant profits and was prosecuted under the DOJ’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge, both targeting high-level opioid trafficking. In a separate case, Tyleke Stokley was sentenced to 31 months in federal prison for transporting over 100 pounds of cocaine through Colorado and was linked to a Mexican drug cartel. These cases underscore ongoing federal efforts against large-scale drug trafficking in the United States.