KC Reporter

An Independence, Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for his involvement in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy and illegal firearm possession.

Wiser Key, 25, received a 25-year sentence from U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark. The sentence does not include the possibility of parole.

Key pleaded guilty on March 27, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. He admitted to conducting drug transactions with an undercover law enforcement officer. In one instance, the officer paid Key $8,500 for 1,000 counterfeit oxycodone tablets containing fentanyl. In another transaction, Key received $6,000 for 750 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

On April 30, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Key’s residence. They discovered multiple plastic bags with tablets, approximately eight kilograms of suspected THC wax, about 39 grams of suspected cocaine, several bags of suspected marijuana, an FN handgun, a loaded Glock .40-caliber handgun, a loaded Springfield 9mm handgun, a loaded Sig Sauer .40-caliber handgun, a Harrington and Richardson 20-gauge shotgun, and $24,676 in cash.

Court documents reveal that Key distributed at least 120,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl during the conspiracy. He and an accomplice purchased between 4,000 and 5,000 pills at a time from sources in Mexico.

Key is the first defendant sentenced in this case. Co-defendants Nilolas Albright (30) of Cameron and Demasjiay Cruse (25) of St. Joseph have pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen A. Brackett, Stephanie C. Bradshaw and John C. Constance are prosecuting the case. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; IRS-Criminal Investigation; Kansas City Police Departments (both Kansas and Missouri); Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department; and St. Joseph Police Department.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation which aims to dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through coordinated efforts among various agencies.

More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.