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ALEXANDRIA, Va - A 28-year-old Alexandria man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison for his role in a years-long conspiracy to traffic counterfeit pills containing carfentanil, fentanyl and heroin, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said.
Dontavious Rashid Whitaker and his co-defendant, D'Moni Anthony Moten, 27, of Woodbridge, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Moten received 16 years and eight months. Both pleaded guilty on Feb. 6 to conspiracy to distribute carfentanil, fentanyl and heroin; possession with intent to distribute carfentanil; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, according to prosecutors.
According to court documents, the conspiracy ran from at least December 2021 through November 2025. The case unraveled in part during a Feb. 19, 2025, attempted traffic stop in Alexandria, when U.S. Marshals tried to pull over a Range Rover driven by Whitaker and a Jaguar driven by Moten. Both men fled on foot, prosecutors said.
Investigators searching the vehicles recovered two loaded handguns, more than 1,800 pills containing 203 grams of fentanyl in the Range Rover, additional pills containing 109 grams of fentanyl in the Jaguar, cocaine, suspected marijuana, a digital scale and cellphones. A subsequent search of a residence tied to the men turned up two more loaded handguns, more than 1,000 fentanyl pills, $182,568 in cash and a money counter.
After the traffic stop, law enforcement made multiple controlled purchases from the pair, including two sales totaling 1,058 grams of a heroin mixture, prosecutors said.
The investigation came to a head Nov. 12, 2025, when agents searched several residences and vehicles connected to the conspiracy. In a vehicle linked to both men, investigators seized nearly 10,000 counterfeit pressed pills containing 721 grams of carfentanil, 116 grams of fentanyl and 108 grams of heroin. Whitaker was found in a residence with a loaded handgun, about $50,000 in cash and more than $70,000 in high-end jewelry in his bedroom, according to court documents. Searches of additional locations turned up another vehicle with 1,000 fentanyl pills and an AK-47-style pistol at a stash house.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Virginia State Police and police departments in Alexandria, Arlington, Prince George's County and Prince William County.
Federal prosecutors said the case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force, an interagency initiative established under Executive Order 14159 that targets cartels, transnational criminal organizations and trafficking rings.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Hahn prosecuted the case.
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