$1.7 million worth of drugs seized in record-setting bust in SC, prosecutor says
Multiple law enforcement agencies recently teamed up to execute the largest fentanyl seizure in South Carolina history, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In coordinated drug busts, multiple people were arrested as 156 pounds of fentanyl was seized, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday in a news release. That amount of fentanyl has a street value of $1.7 million, according to the release.
The seizure, which is part of the Department of Justice’s “Operation Take Back America,” was first announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi and DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy.
“This isn’t just a drug bust. It’s a life-saving intervention on an unprecedented scale for our state,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said in the release. “Law enforcement has been working together at every level to keep South Carolina safe, and we’re committed to dismantling the criminal networks that bring this poison into our communities.”
On July 1, DEA agents, Lexington County Sheriff’s Department deputies and South Carolina State Transport Police officers conducted two coordinated traffic stops in Lexington and Richland counties, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Inside a tractor trailer that was transporting products with a legitimate business purpose, law enforcement also found large packages of illegal narcotics, according to the release.
Investigators believe the seized narcotics were sourced in Mexico and transported across the southern border, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In addition to the record-setting fentanyl bust, 44 pounds of methamphetamine was also seized, according to the release.
“According to the DEA, two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose; therefore, one kilogram of fentanyl can kill 500,000 people,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The 71 kilograms of fentanyl seized in South Carolina on July 1 had the potential to kill 36 million people, according to the release.
Brothers Alberto Rios-Landeros, 26, and Chris Guadalupe Rios-Landeros, 23, were operating the tractor trailer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The Delano, California, residents were arrested following the traffic stop and indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the release.
If convicted, both men face a maximum penalty of life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
There was no word if South Carolina was the intended destination for the drugs or if they were going to be taken to another final location.
“This was a great example of how law enforcement works together to make our community safer. I am proud of the work and collaboration of all the agencies involved to take this massive amount of drugs off of our streets,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in the release. “This should send a strong message to criminals that we are all working together to combat illegal drugs.”
On Tuesday, Koon announced that a 41-year-old North Carolina resident was recently arrested in Lexington County on three fentanyl trafficking charges. Brandon Ulysses Pinkard sold drugs to undercover law enforcement officers on three separate occasions before he was arrested, according to Koon.
“Operation Take Back America,” is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative “to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In addition to the DEA and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the State Transport Police, the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the July 1 drug bust.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike O’Mara is prosecuting the case. Charleston attorney Renee Anderson, of the George Law Firm, is listed as the lawyer for both of the Rios-Landeros brothers, documents show.
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This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 2:13 PM with the headline "$1.7 million worth of drugs seized in record-setting bust in SC, prosecutor says."
