Sidney Caleb Lanier, 36, of Lubbock entered a plea deal Wednesday morning to a conspiracy charge related to Fentanyl. A judge had not yet accepted the plea as of Wednesday but the plea was filed in court records.
Court records said, “Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid analgesic that is about 30 to 40 times stronger than heroin and up to 100 times more powerful than morphine.”
Federal agents from Washington D.C. and Fort Worth came to Lubbock in late October to help local law enforcement officers with a fentanyl drug bust. Two locations were raided – 4901 4th Street and 5747 154th Street.
Both scenes were treated as hazmat locations during the drug bust. Lanier was arrested along with Jessica Holl and Jamie Robertson.
State charges were filed in addition to federal charges.
State court records said, “[Jessica] Holl stated that she was instructed not to call the substance Fentanyl because people were dying.”
In court records Lanier admitted that he was the leader of the three. Officials intercepted a package that was sent from China to Lubbock. Court records said, a substance in the package tested positive for fentanyl.
“This organization distributed between $20,000 and $25,000 of fentanyl per week,” court records said.
Court records also said Lanier ordered fentanyl over the so-called Darknet which is a restricted access computer network used for illegal transactions.
Federal and state charges were still pending Wednesday against Holl and Robertson. Lanier will be sentenced at a later date to no more than 20 years in federal prison.
Related Story: Fentanyl Conspiracy Was Deadly in Lubbock and Conspirators Knew It According to Newest Court Records
* CLARIFICATION: EverythingLubbock.com originally reported that Lanier pleaded guilty on Wednesday. He did sign a plea agreement which was entered into court records, but a judge had not yet formalized his plea in court.
