Akron Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Second Meth Conspiracy Conviction

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City on May 30, 2024, to 30 years’ imprisonment.

Britt Lander, 42, from Akron, Iowa, was convicted by a jury on December 6, 2023, of conspiring to distribute more than 50 grams of pure methamphetamine.  In 2012, Lander was previously convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

The evidence at trial and sentencing showed that Lander, along with others, conspired to receive at least 88 pounds of methamphetamine by mail and vehicle transport from California and Mexico to distribute in the Sioux City and Akron, Iowa areas.  Evidence also showed Lander assisted in unloading 5 to 15 pound loads of methamphetamine, and audio/video recordings showed Lander and another using cutting tools to remove 7 kilograms (roughly 15 pounds) of methamphetamine from inside a spare tire that was used to transport the methamphetamine from Mexico. 

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Lander was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment and must serve term of 10 years supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Lander remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.   

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-4071.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.