Man who sold meth-laced ADHD meds gets 10 years

A Rhode Island man who admitted to possessing approximately 666,000 counterfeit Adderall pills – the largest known seizure of its kind in the US – has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Columbia resident Dylan Rodas (27) has been detained since his arrest for delivery of methamphetamine to a confidential source in March 2022.

He pleaded guilty in September to possession with intent to distribute fake Adderall containing the illicit drug methamphetamine, rather than the mixed amphetamine salts found in the genuine product.

Rodas was caught as the result an investigation by the DEA Drug Task Force as part of Project Safe Neighbourhoods (PSN) Rhode Island, which is focusing on meth trafficking, according to a statement from US Attorney Zachary Cunha. Meth is a highly addictive schedule 2 drug that puts a heavy burden on those who become dependent on it.

At the time of his arrest, Rodas immediately provided DEA agents with information about his drug trafficking activities, including the location where he packaged and stored narcotics and that he was in possession of a number of firearms, assorted ammunition and other illegal substance.

Upon searching this location, agents seized the counterfeit Adderall pills, weighing a total of approximately 660 pounds and worth an estimated $4.6m. He was also found in possession of approximately 11 kilograms of methamphetamine powder; an amount of fake Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, two motorized pill presses, 250 grams of cocaine, $15,000 in cash, and seven handguns, including two ‘ghost’ guns – unserialised and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home. 

Rodas was sentenced on February 23 by US District Court Chief Judge John McConnell, to 120 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of federal supervised release and to pay a $5,000 fine.

The PSN programme was launched to bring together different law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, which is closely linked to the illicit and counterfeit drug trade.