United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons announced the results of four landmark federal prosecutions in the past year that have systematically dismantled major drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) connected to the Mexican cartels responsible for flooding South Dakota communities with methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other deadly narcotics.  Through coordinated, long-term investigations involving federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota has secured federal convictions against 54 members of these four organizations, with eight cases still pending and one case dismissed due to the defendant’s death, and has obtained substantial federal prison sentences—including multiple sentences exceeding 20 and 30 years—against their leaders, lieutenants, suppliers, and sub-distributors in the past year alone.

Conservatively estimated, these four DTOs together trafficked more than 1,000 pounds—over half a ton—of methamphetamine and multiple kilograms of fentanyl pills and powder into South Dakota over the course of recent years. The defendants ranged from out-of-state suppliers connected to Mexican cartels to local distributors operating from short-term rental properties, hotels, and private residences across Sioux Falls, Rapid City, the Pine Ridge Reservation, and surrounding communities.

As the capstone of those efforts, U.S. Attorney Parsons announced that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Las Vegas, Nevada, man convicted by a federal jury of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, as well as an additional three of his subordinates for similar drug-related crimes.

On June 24, 2026, Quantiae Harris, 49, was sentenced to 33 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2024.  He was found guilty by a federal jury following a four-day trial on March 27, 2026. Harris was the leader of a California and Nevada-based drug trafficking organization responsible for bringing large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl to the Sioux Falls area.  More than anyone else, Harris was responsible for the introduction and distribution of fentanyl powder — the most potent, deadly and destructive form of that illicit substance — into the Sioux Falls illegal drug market.  At his sentencing, Judge Schreier noted that the drug quantity involved in the prosecution of the Quantiae Harris drug trafficking organization was one of the highest she had seen in more than 25 years on the federal bench.

"The actions of Quantiae Harris and his associates made detrimental and lasting impacts on communities across South Dakota," DEA Omaha Field Division Special Agent in Charge Dustin Gillespie said. "Fentanyl and methamphetamine carry potentially lethal consequences, and some families may never recover from the poisons Harris knowingly brought into the state and sold. Today’s sentencing sends a strong message to drug traffickers looking to make their mark in our state. DEA, alongside state, local, tribal and fellow federal partners will work non-stop to bring individuals peddling these illicit drugs to justice.”

Coordinated, multi-agency efforts yield charges against 63 defendants and more than 660 years in federal prison sentences—with more to come. 33-year sentence for Harris DTO leader is capstone of efforts.

“Behind every ounce of methamphetamine and every fentanyl pill in these cases is a South Dakota family that has suffered and felt the damage." U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons said. "That is who this work is for. We have proven that no link in the chain is beyond our reach—not the local dealer, not the out-of-state supplier, and not the cartel hiding in the shadows behind them. Working with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners, we will keep following that chain, defendant by defendant and case by case, until our communities are no longer a market these traffickers believe they can exploit.”

“This is an amazing win for the people of South Dakota. The damage Harris and his associates have done to communities by introducing fentanyl powder to Sioux Falls is immeasurable," IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge William Steenson said. "IRS-CI special agents are committed to working alongside our federal law enforcement partners to trace the money trails that lead to the disruption of dangerous drug trafficking organizations such as this.”

Three additional sentences for members of the Quantiae Harris DTO were also announced by U.S. Attorney Parsons today:

On June 15, 2026, Faily Chavez, 31, from California City, California, was sentenced by Judge Schreier to 24 years and four months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  Chavez was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in October 2024.  She pleaded guilty on March 24, 2026.

On June 22, 2026, Kyle Schryvers, 33, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange to 16 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  He pleaded guilty on March 17, 2026.

Also on June 22, 2026, Nicole Kritz, 48, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was sentenced by Chief Judge Lange to five years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  She pleaded guilty on March 16, 2026.

Chavez, Schryvers, and Kritz were all members of the Quantiae Harris DTO.

These sentences are the latest results from the systematic takedown of four major drug trafficking operations in South Dakota over the past year:

• Quantiae Harris DTO
• Juan Sertuche DTO
• Matthew Shade DTO
• Darrel Devorce DTO

By the Numbers
Combined results across just these four discrete prosecutions:

• Total defendants charged or convicted federally: 63 charged, 54 convictions to date
• Methamphetamine trafficked (combined estimates): More than 1,000 pounds
• Fentanyl pills trafficked (combined estimates): Tens of thousands
• Fentanyl powder: Multiple kilograms
• Money laundering proceeds traced: Several million dollars
• Federal prison sentences to date: More than 660 years
• Federal jury trials: Three to date (Quantiae Harris, Juan Sertuche, and Gregory Henderson convicted at trial)

Importantly, the prosecutions of the four drug trafficking organizations detailed in this report represent only a portion of the drug trafficking convictions and sentences secured by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota over the past year.

1. QUANTIAE HARRIS DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION

26-Defendant California- and Nevada-Based Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Conspiracy

Overview of the Organization

From late 2023 through September 2024, a California- and Nevada-based drug trafficking organization led by Quantiae Harris, age 49, of Las Vegas, Nevada, transported large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl from California to South Dakota for distribution in the Sioux Falls area. The organization is the first known to have introduced powder fentanyl to the Sioux Falls drug market—a development of grave public health and public safety concern given fentanyl’s extreme lethality even in microscopic amounts.

The organization initially shipped drugs through the U.S. Mail to addresses in Sioux Falls, where members would collect packages and distribute the contents to local sub-distributors. Operations were originally conducted out of local hotels, but eventually transitioned to short-term rental properties, including Airbnbs. Once the U.S. Postal Inspection Service began intercepting their packages, the organization shifted methods, using rental vehicles equipped with hidden compartments to drive narcotics from California to Sioux Falls.

Customers contacted members for brief meetups at public locations to purchase drugs, with payments made in cash or through electronic payment platforms such as Cash App. Bulk cash proceeds were transported back to California in rental vehicles, while large amounts of currency were also deposited in local banks into accounts belonging to Quantiae Harris. The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation linked Harris to over $1.2 million in money laundering transactions related to the organization.

Scope of Trafficking (Conservative Estimates)

• More than 100 pounds of methamphetamine
• Tens of thousands of fentanyl pills (estimated 50,000)
• Approximately 2 kilograms of fentanyl powder
• More than $1.2 million in money laundering transactions linked to the DTO leader

Indictments and Prosecutions

Four rounds of federal indictments charged a total of 26 defendants in connection with the Harris organization.  Convictions for 22 of the 26 defendants have been secured so far. Harris, the DTO leader, was convicted following a four-day federal jury trial in Sioux Falls, returning a guilty verdict on every count on March 27, 2026.  Currently, four remaining defendants are scheduled for trials. Regarding those four defendants, as with any pending criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation, and they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Federal Defendants

“This was a major bust of a significant figure in the lurid underworld of illegal drugs. The Trump Administration has designated fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality in extremely small amounts. In its pure powder form, it truly is a chemical weapon. If a member of your family used fentanyl in Sioux Falls over the past few years, this defendant is one of the primary drug dealers likely to have brought it here.”

                                                                   — U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons (following Harris jury verdict)

Investigating Agencies

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force (SFADTF); Sioux Falls Police Department; South Dakota Highway Patrol; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Each of these cases has been prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen handled the investigatory stage of some of the prosecutions.

2. JUAN SERTUCHE DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION
   Two-Decade Cartel-Sourced Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Pipeline into Western South Dakota Shut Down

Overview of the Organization

Juan Sertuche, age 43, of Denver, Colorado, led a drug distribution conspiracy spanning more than two decades from approximately 2002 through September 2023. Sertuche was sourced by a Mexican cartel and brought between 30 and 50 pounds of methamphetamine into South Dakota every other week, providing hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills to multiple sub-distributors for further distribution in the Rapid City area and the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Investigators linked Sertuche to a traffic stop that uncovered 19 pounds of methamphetamine intended for distribution in western South Dakota. He was arrested in September 2023 after another traffic stop in Jackson County, where officers found approximately 1,500 fentanyl pills. Even after his arrest, Sertuche continued coordinating drug deals from custody and directed others to collect firearms to trade for drugs. Law enforcement recovered several weapons, including two fully automatic machine guns, before they could be exchanged.

Scope of Trafficking

• Hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine over the duration of the conspiracy
• Tens of thousands of fentanyl pills
• Source of supply traced to Mexican cartel
• Continued drug coordination and firearms trafficking after arrest

Indictments and Prosecutions

The investigation produced parallel federal and state prosecutions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the top tier of the organization, resulting in 10 convictions and federal prison sentences, while additional DTO members were prosecuted in state court.

Federal Defendants

“We may never know the true depths of the devastation, suffering, and loss inflicted on our communities by the methamphetamine, fentanyl, and automatic weapons trafficked and sold by this defendant. But we will do our best to hold this profiteer of misery fully accountable and ensure he receives a federal prison sentence that will put him out of that business for a long time.”

                                              — U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons (following Sertuche conviction at trial)

Investigating Agencies

South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI); Pennington County Sheriff’s Office; Rapid City Police Department; South Dakota Highway Patrol; Wyoming State Highway Patrol; North Metro Denver Drug Task Force; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety (OSTDPS); and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

These cases were prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen, Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges.

3. MATTHEW SHADE DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION
   Arizona-Sourced Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Operation Trafficking 200 Pounds into Sioux Falls Area Dismantled

Overview of the Organization

Matthew Shade, age 34, of Tea, South Dakota, served as the local leader of a drug trafficking organization that obtained methamphetamine and fentanyl from sources in Mexico who then arranged for the drugs to cross the border and be delivered to co-conspirators in Arizona for distribution throughout the Sioux Falls area. The organization received drugs both through the U.S. Mail and through cross-country car deliveries by a supplier traveling from Arizona to South Dakota.

In December 2024, investigators seized a package containing over four pounds of methamphetamine. Postal Inspectors, working with the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, also seized two parcels sent from Sioux Falls to Arizona that contained over $26,000 in cash, as well as a separate package bound for Sioux Falls containing 144 grams of fentanyl powder. After identifying that Shade’s supplier was traveling by car to South Dakota, investigators arranged for the South Dakota Highway Patrol to conduct a traffic stop during which a trooper located approximately 26 pounds of methamphetamine and over 2,000 fentanyl pills concealed in the vehicle. At Shade’s residence in Tea, investigators found 80 grams of methamphetamine, 22 fentanyl pills, and other narcotics.

Scope of Trafficking

• Approximately 200 pounds of methamphetamine trafficked to the Sioux Falls area
• Significant quantities of fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder
• Multiple seizures of bulk cash being routed back to Arizona suppliers

Indictments and Prosecutions

To date, 13 defendants have been indicted in connection with the Shade organization, including Matthew Shade himself, nine South Dakota members operating beneath him, and two Arizona-based defendants representing the supply chain. Nine defendants have been convicted, with two of those defendants still awaiting sentencing; four additional defendants have pending trial dates. Regarding those four defendants, as with any pending criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation, and they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

Federal Defendants

“This was another skillfully managed takedown of a serial drug dealer and his operation by the dedicated officers on the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, with a strong assist from the Criminal Investigations Unit of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  In all likelihood, the fentanyl and methamphetamine seized from this criminal’s operation would have killed some people who are alive right now in Sioux Falls. This investigation, prosecution, and substantial federal prison sentence has given them another chance at life. I will never stop being grateful for that.”

                                                     — U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons (following Shade sentencing)

Investigating Agencies

Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force (SFADTF); Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office; South Dakota Highway Patrol; U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges, Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Connie Larson, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce.

4. DARREL DEVORCE DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION
   Five-Year California-to-South Dakota Methamphetamine Pipeline Dismantled

Overview of the Organization

Darrel Devorce, age 57, of San Jacinto, California, ran a large methamphetamine trafficking organization for approximately five years, sourcing methamphetamine from California to co-conspirators in Sioux Falls beginning around 2018 and continuing into 2023. Devorce arranged for methamphetamine from California to be delivered to co-conspirators in South Dakota using various couriers and directed others to conduct financial transactions involving the proceeds using Cash App, Western Union, and Zelle. The money transfers were designed to conceal both the source of the proceeds and Devorce’s involvement in the conspiracy.

Scope of Trafficking

• Approximately 200 pounds of methamphetamine trafficked into South Dakota
• Over $700,000 laundered through the organization
• Five-year operational period (approximately 2018–2023)

Indictments and Prosecutions

The Devorce investigation has resulted in convictions and sentences of 14 defendants in federal court.

Federal Defendants

“Devorce is a longtime meth dealer responsible for shipping that poison into South Dakota since at least 2018. He will now be separated from the rest of society for most of the rest of his life.”

                                                    — U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons (following Devorce sentencing)

Investigating Agencies

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force (SFADTF); South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

These cases were prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Connie Larson, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb.

Why This Matters

These four organizations represent fundamentally different models of drug trafficking: a long-running, cartel-sourced pipeline from Mexico through Colorado (Sertuche); a multi-year California-to-South Dakota methamphetamine operation (Devorce); a sophisticated, multi-method California- and Nevada-based operation that introduced powder fentanyl to Sioux Falls (Harris); and an Arizona-sourced operation moving narcotics into the Sioux Falls suburbs (Shade). Together they illustrate how out-of-state suppliers, usually with cartel ties, continue to target South Dakota communities, and how federal prosecutors and law enforcement partners are responding.

Fentanyl in particular poses a grave and growing threat. The Harris organization was the first known to introduce powder fentanyl to the Sioux Falls market, a substance lethal in microscopic amounts. The dismantling of these organizations and the substantial federal prison sentences obtained have meaningfully disrupted the flow of these drugs into South Dakota and saved lives.

These results, however, mark the beginning of a sustained effort, not the end of it. Additional defendants in these four prosecutions remain pending trial or pending sentencing. New investigations and new indictments are ongoing, and the work done in taking down these four drug trafficking organizations reflects only a portion of the total felony drug convictions secured by this office over the past year. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota intends to continue its aggressive use of federal prosecution against any drug trafficking organization that targets South Dakota communities, and to do so until the supply networks reaching into this State have been dismantled.

A Coordinated, Multi-Agency Effort

These prosecutions were the product of sophisticated, long-term investigations conducted by federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, many of which collaborate through long-standing drug task forces operating throughout South Dakota.  The cases reflect the strength of the multi-agency model in which federal and state investigators, prosecutors, postal inspectors, financial crimes specialists, state troopers, tribal law enforcement, and local police and sheriff’s offices each contributed to building cases capable of holding the highest-level traffickers accountable.

Task Forces and Agencies Involved Across the Four Prosecutions

• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
• U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP)
• Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
• Bureau of Indian Affairs-Division of Drug Enforcement (BIA-DDE)
• South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI)
• South Dakota Highway Patrol (SDHP)
• Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force (SFADTF)
• Sioux Falls Police Department
• Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office
• Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET)
• Pennington County Sheriff’s Office
• Rapid City Police Department
• Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety (OSTDPS)
• North Metro Denver Drug Task Force
• Wyoming State Highway Patrol

Part of a National Strategy: South Dakota and the Nationwide Effort to Eradicate Cartels and Drug Trafficking

These four DTO takedowns are not isolated victories. They are part of the most comprehensive, whole-of-government campaign to dismantle drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations in modern American history. Beginning on his first day back in office, President Trump set in motion a sweeping series of executive actions, designations, task force structures, and policy directives intended to do what no prior administration has attempted at this scale: achieve the total elimination of the cartels and the eradication of illegal drug trafficking on American soil.  To accomplish this directive, the United States government is utilizing every tool at its disposal: law enforcement, addiction treatment and counseling, border security, trade, the banking system, international diplomacy, and, where authorized, military action.

South Dakota’s prosecutions of the Harris, Devorce, Sertuche, and Shade organizations are an integral part of that national strategy. Each of these cases reaches back, ultimately, to out-of-state and often cartel-connected sources of supply. Each illustrates how the national framework set in Washington translates into convictions, prison sentences, and lives saved in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, the communities of the Pine Ridge Reservation, and across all of South Dakota.

We Are Only Getting Started

New indictments are being returned by federal grand juries on a routine basis. New investigations, including investigations targeting the out-of-state and cartel-connected suppliers above the local distribution networks already dismantled, are underway. Every prosecution that produces a cooperator opens a door to the next organization.

At the national level, the trajectory is the same. The Homeland Security Task Force model, the FTO designation regime, and the consolidated Operation Take Back America framework are all permanent fixtures of federal law enforcement. The Administration has made clear, repeatedly and at the highest level, that the goal is not the disruption of cartels and trafficking organizations, but their total elimination. That work will continue, in South Dakota and across the country, until that goal is achieved.

To the traffickers, distributors, money launderers, and out-of-state suppliers still operating in or targeting South Dakota: the message from this U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal, state, local, and tribal partners is direct. The cases described in this report are not the end of the work. They are the beginning. Anyone who continues to bring methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, or other deadly drugs into South Dakota communities should expect the same fate as the defendants identified above: federal indictment, federal conviction, and a substantial federal prison sentence.

About Operation Take Back America

Many of these prosecutions are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the U.S. Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Through PSN, the District of South Dakota seeks to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.