A man from Liberty, Missouri, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy. Dakota Thomas Morris, also known as “DMO,” age 28, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark. Morris had previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl between October 27, 2020, and January 24, 2023.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen A. Brackett and investigated by several agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Grundy County Sheriff’s Office; Trenton Police Department; Northwest Missouri Drug Task Force; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Buchanan County Drug Strike Force; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Mercer County Sheriff’s Office; and the Internal Revenue Service.
This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. According to the release: “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.” The statement adds: “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 Kansas City includes agents and officers from multiple federal agencies with prosecution led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
