The head of an Elmira-based opioid trafficking operation was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison Thursday in Rochester.

Robert Ian Thatcher 31, of Elmira pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court in Rochester to conspiracy to possess and to distribute U-47700, along with 100 grams or more of furanyl fentanyl.

He was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr.

Thatcher’s operation was linked to at least two overdose deaths, prosecutors said. The opioid pills were manufactured at homes in Sayre, Pennsylvania, and Catlin, Chemung County, and then sold around the Elmira and Corning areas. 

Thatcher used eBay to purchase tableting machines and other components to make the opioid pills. He and a co-defendant, Maximillian Sams, also imported bulk amounts of furanyl fentanyl and U-47700 from Chinese suppliers.

More: Elmira man who ran illegal fentantyl trafficking pleads guilty to federal drug charge

Utilizing the “dark web,” Thatcher used other people in New York and Pennsylvania to receive the drug shipments. Tens of thousands of pills were manufactured illegally, and they were made to look like legitimate 30-milligram Percocet pills.

Thirteen members and associates of Thatcher’s drug operation have been convicted of federal drug charges.

Authorities believe Thatcher’s fentanyl ring was directly involved with overdose deaths of  a 21-year-old and a 25-year-old man.

Fentanyl is a hospital-grade synthetic opioid that is cheaper on the street and many times more potent than heroin. The danger stems from an addict accustomed to taking a certain amount of heroin, then ingesting a certain amount of fentanyl, which produces a much higher opioid effect.

Investigators used confidential sources while building their case. One of those sources told police Thatcher’s pills were being sold for $30 per pill. Thatcher allegedly made more than $750,000 from selling the fentanyl pills around the Elmira area.

Several search warrants were executed in 2017. Authorities recovered 244 furanyl fentanyl pills, four long guns and ammunition. They also found the materials used to manufacture the pills for distribution. Prosecutors said Thatcher also had several guns at his Elmira home.

One of the co-conspirators, Anthony Prettyman, was found in possession of 5,330 blue furanyl fentanyl pills during a traffic stop in North Carolina on Oct. 25, 2016. Prosecutors said Thatcher and Sams supplied Prettyman with the pills.

Prosecutors said Thatcher’s bank account swelled in cash deposits over a roughly two-year period despite no evidence of a legitimate job.

Investigators learned that in early 2017, Thatcher arranged for a package of furanyl fentanyl that was ordered over the “dark web” to be sent to a co-conspirator. Federal Customs and Border Protection officers examined the package at John F. Kennedy International Airport mail branch in Queens. It contained 249 grams of furanyl fentanyl.

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com

ABORRELLI@Gannett.com

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