Georgian man sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in East Texas

SHERMAN, Texas – An Atlanta man has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for his role in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Clarence Nero, 56, was convicted following a three-day trial of conspiring to traffic fentanyl and was sentenced to 264 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant on June 24, 2025.

According to information presented in court, Nero was the organizer of a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, that smuggled fentanyl across the United States border into Arizona, and then from Phoenix to New Orleans and the east coast.

On February 14, 2022, Quanita Brown, was the subject of a traffic stop on Highway 380 in Denton County, after she was found with 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl.  The illegal drugs were hidden in a false compartment in the vehicle and was alerted on by a police K-9.  An investigation into the source of the fentanyl revealed Nero as the principal supplier responsible for trafficking fentanyl in a conspiracy that spanned the southern United States.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Denton County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Anderson and Chris Rapp.

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