Allegheny County man sentenced to 15 years for running fentanyl trafficking organization

An Allegheny County man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for running a fentanyl trafficking organization two years ago, prosecutors said.

Cameron Basking, 28, who had addresses in Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh, was convicted of multiple federal drug and firearm offenses after a weeklong jury trial, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said.

Prosecutors said Basking ran his organization from January 2018 to March 14, 2018. It operated in Allegheny County.

According to Brady, Basking would receive large amounts of fentanyl from two co-conspirator suppliers and mix it for future resale. Brady said Basking used multiple locations in Allegheny County to cut, mix, store and sell the fentanyl.

A March 14, 2018, FBI raid at multiple locations and vehicles tied to Basking resulted in the recovery of numerous guns, drugs and drug paraphernalia, prosecutors said.

In the basement of a Princeton Boulevard house in Wilkinsburg, investigators recovered tens of thousands of stamp bags used to package fentanyl as well as ammunition.

At an address on West Carter Drive in North Versailles, investigators recovered drugs and drug related evidence including over 40 grams of fentanyl, thousands of stamp bags, blenders, grinders and gas masks, as well as guns and ammunition.

At another address on Rebecca Street in Wilkinsburg, investigators recovered a firearm and ammunition, a quantity of fentanyl, six digital scales and fentanyl-packaging material.

According to prosecutors, Basking used the West Carter address to store the fentanyl, the Princeton Boulevard address to cut and mix the fentanyl for distribution, and the Rebecca Street address as the distribution center.

Following his prison sentence, Basking will have four years of supervised release.