The United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that 23-year-old Cynthia Abarca-Barajas, of Omaha, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Abarca-Barajas to 34 months’ imprisonment. After her release from prison, she will begin a 4-year term of supervised release.

On March 15, 2021, law enforcement working with a confidential source arranged a controlled purchase of 1,000 M-30 pills for $6,000 from a Mexico-based source of supply.

The source of supply indicated that his ‘girl’ would provide the pills after she got off from work. The following day, on March 16, 2021, the source of supply sent a photo depicting fentanyl pills held by a female hand. The source of supply indicated the transaction would occur on March 18, 2021.

The source of supply provided Abarca-Barajas’s phone number as the point of contact for the transaction.  Law enforcement investigated and established surveillance on Abarca-Barajas.  Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop and subsequently arrested Abarca-Barajas on her way to the planned controlled-buy location.

Abarca-Barajas admitted she possessed drugs concealed in a cereal box in her car.  The recovered fentanyl pills were lab tested and confirmed to be 997 pills at 108.65 grams that tested positive for fentanyl, fentanyl precursor, and over-the-counter painkillers.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Omaha Field Division, Omaha Police Department, and Nebraska State Patrol.