United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Matthew Ray Calas of Spring Valley with distributing a powerful synthetic opioid—N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene—that resulted in the death of a 67-year-old San Diego resident.

According to court records, Calas advertised drugs for sale on Craigslist using coded language. In text messages with the victim, Calas offered to sell the victim “red devil nitazene,” a smokeable crystal powder. The victim was found on the floor holding drug paraphernalia, suggesting he died shortly after ingesting the substance. Three months later, Calas sold more of the “Red Devil” to an undercover law enforcement officer.

Calas is also charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Butonitazene, and Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition.

N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene (often abbreviated NPP) is a synthetic opioid in the nitazene family. Nitazenes are a class of laboratory-made opioids that were originally developed decades ago in pharmaceutical research but were generally not approved for medical use. Some newer nitazene analogs have emerged in the illicit drug supply and are associated with overdose deaths. It is extremely potent and has opioid effects similar to fentanyl and other powerful opioids. Naloxone (Narcan) can help reverse opioid overdose effects from NPP, though multiple doses may sometimes be needed with very potent opioids.

Special agents and officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team led the investigation. This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the San Diego Police Department, the La Mesa Police Department, National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the California Department of Health Care Services, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The Drug Enforcement Administration created the Overdose Response Team as a response to the increase in overdose deaths in San Diego County.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith D. Ellison.

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Counts 1, 2, and 4

Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(l) – Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Butonitazine, and Methamphetamine

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison

Count 3

Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(l), (b)(1)(C) – Distribution of N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene Resulting in Death

Maximum Penalty: Life in prison; Mandatory minimum 20 years 

Count 5

Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 924(c)(l) – Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum five years in prison

Count 6

Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 922(g)(l) – Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES: United States Attorney's Office; San Diego Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force; California Department of Health Care Services; La Mesa Police Department; San Diego County District Attorney’s Office; Naval Criminal Investigative Service

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.