A Colorado man, Tashon Roberts, has been sentenced to 145.5 years in state prison after a large-scale fentanyl pill manufacturing operation was discovered in his Aurora home. Roberts, 33, was convicted by a Denver jury of multiple charges, including the manufacture, possession, and distribution of fentanyl. This conviction came four months after his arrest in May 2024, following a raid on his home where police discovered a drug lab, pill presses, 3D-printed semi-automatic guns, and large quantities of fentanyl pills and cocaine powder.
Details of the Drug Operation and the Discovery
The authorities raided Roberts’s home on Olathe Street in Aurora, finding six pill presses and various drugs scattered throughout the property. The presses were used to manufacture counterfeit oxycodone pills, stamped with “M30,” a common identifier for fentanyl pills. Additionally, some presses had white powder loaded into them, and plastic baggies filled with fentanyl pills were found all over the house, even floating in the toilet tank.
The operation was capable of producing up to 600,000 fentanyl pills per month, with the drugs being distributed throughout the Denver metro area. The raid, which involved the Denver Police, Aurora SWAT team, and federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), also uncovered two 3D-printed semi-automatic guns, indicating the scale and seriousness of the operation.
Child Abuse and the Impact on Roberts’s Family
The raid also revealed that Roberts’s home was occupied by three children, who were at risk due to the drug operation. One of the children tested positive for fentanyl at a local hospital. As a result, Roberts was also convicted of child abuse for each of the three children who were living in the house during the operation. They were later placed in the care of the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services.
Roberts’s Connections to the Fentanyl Trade
Investigators found evidence linking Roberts to a larger network involved in fentanyl production. He had purchased at least one pill press from a Chinese website, TDPMolds.com, which was later sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury. This website had been used to acquire the equipment for producing counterfeit pills. The team’s fentanyl pills were being sold across the Denver area, contributing to the ongoing opioid crisis in Colorado.
Sentencing and Law Enforcement’s Reaction
Roberts’s sentencing marks a significant step in law enforcement’s fight against fentanyl production and distribution. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas expressed relief that Roberts would be off the streets for many years, noting that dismantling this operation could save lives by halting the supply of fentanyl pills in the community. “One Pill Can Kill,” he stated, emphasizing the deadly nature of fentanyl and its impact on public health.
Tashon Roberts’s 145.5-year prison sentence serves as a strong warning about the serious consequences of drug manufacturing and distribution. The fentanyl crisis continues to devastate communities across the country, and this case highlights the importance of continued law enforcement efforts to combat illicit drug operations. With the dismantling of Roberts’s fentanyl production operation, authorities hope to reduce the deadly supply of counterfeit drugs and protect future generations from the dangers of addiction and overdose.