Investigators tracked a trail of drugs from a Mexican cartel to Delaware, seizing about 35 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, meth and "tranq."
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Dwayne Fountain styled himself as a serious and savvy businessman who sold illicit street drugs supplied by a Mexican cartel and other sources: fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Fountain also cut some drugs with xylazine, a horse tranquilizer also known as "tranq" that puts users in a zombie-like state -- their heads bowed as they wobble while standing -- and can cause serious skin infections.
The 54-year-old Delaware man lived in Middletown, Delaware, where he kept a kilogram press to put drugs back into "brick" form after they were mixed into the form he sold to his network of distributors throughout the state. He stashed the dope at an apartment several miles away, in Bear.
But a few years ago, according to court records examined by WHYY News that detail Fountain's operation, federal and local investigators using wiretaps and other tools began tracking his shipments from Mexico to California to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and finally to Delaware.
Prosecutors say that in one intercepted conversation, Fountain said he knew his drugs could kill users, and in one text told his foreign suppliers he wanted fentanyl "strong enough to kill an elephant." In recent years, fentanyl was found in 83% of Delaware's overdose deaths.
Drug deals went down at the Grotto Pizza and Green Turtle restaurants in Dover and other locations, authorities said in court records. The agents conducted a series of undercover buys from members of Fountain's ring, and in May 2023 obtained a search warrant for a handful of locations. They conducted raids and seized what federal prosecutors say was the largest amount of ultra-lethal fentanyl ever seized in Delaware.
That haul included more than 10.5 kilograms of fentanyl, plus more than 3.5 kilos of cocaine and nearly 3 kilos of heroin. A kilo is 2.2 pounds.
The agents also seized nearly a half-pound of pure meth, and more than a half-pound of xylazine, as well as body armor, guns and nearly $100,000 in cash.
The drawer of one raided home contained hundreds of white packages of drug doses stamped with an image of a panda wearing red shorts and the words "ONE DAB." Court documents provide further details of what agents found.
The probe led to a federal drug trafficking indictment against Dwayne Fountain, and related drug charges against his cousin Martin Fountain, William Warren and Durell Patton. The latter three pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Wilmington and await sentencing.