Man caught with 25,000 pills in Nebraska is sentenced for fentanyl charges

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A man from Mexico will spend more than six years in federal prison for transporting thousands of fentanyl pills in Nebraska.

U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Orlando Castro-Gutierrez, 29, on Thursday to 76 months in prison for two fentanyl-related charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

On March 7, 2022, Castro-Gutierrez was a passenger in a car pulled over on Interstate 80 in Dawson County.

A Nebraska state trooper smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, prompting a search.

Law enforcement found 10 triple-wrapped bags in the trunk, hidden under clothing. Those bags contained about 10,000 pills, which later tested positive for fentanyl.

Troopers also found 15 baggies in a paper sack. Those bags had about 15,000 pills, which were found to contain para-flurofentanyl, an analogue of fentanyl.

After the vehicle was towed from the scene, law enforcement discovered even more drugs: a 1-pound brick of fentanyl.

The driver of the vehicle, Alejandro Berrelleza-Bojorquez, was sentenced in April.

Castro-Gutierrez was also ordered to spend four years on supervised release after his prison sentence.

And after that, he faces deportation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office