BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging eight Baltimore residents with participating in a fentanyl and heroin ring.
If convicted, the defendants each face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. Prosecutors say one of the accused also faces gun charges. All the defendants except one have been arrested and are in federal or state custody.
In a Monday statement, U.S. Attorney Robert Hur in Baltimore says his office is trying to do "everything possible to reduce overdose deaths from fentanyl and from all opioids."
Late last year, he announced that officials in Maryland's biggest city would prosecute more fentanyl cases in federal court. The effort is designed to help combat an alarming increase of fatalities caused by the synthetic opioid.
