United States Drug Enforcement Administration

TRENTON, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a California man was convicted today of conspiracy and manufacturing, distributing, and possessing with intent to manufacture and distribute a fentanyl analogue.

Andrew Tablack, 29, of Beverly Hills, California, was convicted of one count of manufacturing, distributing, and possessing with intent to manufacture and distribute pills containing cyclopropyl fentanyl, an analogue of fentanyl intended for human consumption, in violation of the federal drug laws, and one count of conspiracy to do the same. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning the guilty verdict following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court.

From at least March 2017 through December 2017, Tablack ran a massive pill making operation that distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl analogue pills throughout the United States, including New Jersey. These pills contained a powerful synthetic opioid with significant abuse potential. Tablack manufactured these illegal pills in clandestine labs in and near Los Angeles and sold them anonymously on the dark web, the Internet’s black market, using the moniker “XanaxKing2.” Tablack shipped approximately 400,000 of his illegal pills per month and made millions of dollars from his illegal operation in digital currency that is commonly used in the black market due to its relative anonymity.

Each count of the indictment is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6, 2021.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), Newark Division, under the direction of under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins; and special agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty verdict.

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