A pair of Wisconsin men, one of whom worked as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS), were arrested for their involvement in a fentanyl trafficking ring.
According to Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, Kenneth Phillips, 40, of Wisconsin Dells, was identified as the group’s commander, while 44-year-old Brandon Stevens of Reedsburg assisted with drug pickup as a mail carrier.
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Ames Basham, a co-defendant, was found to have been mailing fentanyl pill packages from California to Phillips and Stevens, as well as Chrystal Mueller, at several addresses in Wisconsin.
The blue pills labeled ‘M30’ resembled prescription medications, but they included fentanyl and other narcotics. Nineteen parcels were mailed, some of which were intercepted by the USPS in March and April 2022.
Phillips, the drug ring’s local leader, furnished Basham with addresses, and the pills were mailed to Wisconsin. Stevens, a USPS postal carrier, would pick up parcels throughout his route and deliver them to Mueller.
Once they arrived at an abandoned property on his mail route, Phillips and Mueller sold the items locally. Phillips was on supervision for a previous battery conviction at the time.
Phillips was sentenced to six years in prison and four years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson, citing the gravity of the offense. Stevens was sentenced to approximately 366 days in jail and three years of supervised release.
Basham and Mueller pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced soon.
