ABERDEEN, Miss. — Medford Delon Eiland, 39, of Louisville was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl, federal officials said.
Senior U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock handed down the sentence. Court records show a suspicious Priority Express Mail package mailed from Tolleson, Arizona, to Eiland’s Louisville address was intercepted by a U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspector on March 7, 2022.
Investigators obtained a federal search warrant, opened the package and found a heat-sealed bag containing numerous blue pills. Because of the danger of fentanyl exposure, authorities removed the pills before conducting a controlled delivery to the residence.
After the package was delivered, officers with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Highway Patrol and Winston County Sheriff’s Office approached the home. Officials said Eiland fled into a wooded area behind the residence but was later located and detained. Authorities said he admitted he knew the package contained narcotics, though he claimed he did not know it contained fentanyl.
Investigators estimated the package contained about 500 dosage units, and laboratory testing confirmed the pills contained fentanyl. Authorities also found Eiland’s fingerprints on the parcel. U.S. Attorney Scott Leary said fentanyl has “devastated families and destroyed communities,” and Robert Eikhoff said the quantity of pills “would have continued poisoning our communities and destroying lives.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stringfellow prosecuted the case as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, a multiagency effort targeting cartels, gangs and drug trafficking organizations.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that has contributed to a rise in overdose deaths nationwide. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
