Fentanyl Trafficking, Guns And Suspected Cocaine Leads To Prison Sentence For Laurel Man

LAUREL, MD — A 48-year-old Laurel man has been sentenced to federal prison for distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

According to a guilty plea entered by Roddrick Navara Shelby, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Montgomery County Police Department started investigating Shelby in connection to suspected fentanyl trafficking in November 2024.

During their investigation, law enforcement carried out three controlled purchases where Shelby sold a confidential source approximately 500 pills. The pills were blue in color and imprinted with “M30” – mimicking the markings on legitimate pills that someone would receive from a manufacturer containing oxycodone hydrochloride, according to the guilty plea.

A laboratory analysis confirmed that the blue “M30” pills contained fentanyl. Shelby sold approximately 1,471 fentanyl pills, or more than 150 grams of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl, to the confidential source, authorities disclosed.

On the morning of March 20, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Shelby’s residence and vehicle in Laurel. They found assorted ammunition, one loaded magazine, two empty .357 caliber Glock magazines and one empty .45 caliber Glock magazine, along with 63 rounds of ammunition, court documents showed. Law enforcement also found three digital scales with white residue and three small-knotted baggies containing what the officers suspected to be cocaine.

Shelby has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison by a judge.