A 37-year-old Lodi woman was sentenced this week to eight years in federal prison after admitting she helped run a drug trafficking operation that moved methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl through six Northern California counties, including a batch of fentanyl so potent that sellers nicknamed it “death angel.”
Ong Thao was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl, according to Stocktonia News. The operation ran from July 2022 through November 2024 and sent drugs into Sacramento, Placer, San Joaquin, Butte, Shasta and Siskiyou counties, as reported by FOX40.
Among the evidence against Thao was her participation in the sale of nine ounces of fentanyl that she and other sellers called “death angel,” which FOX40 reports tested at 77% purity. Investigators also found approximately 130 pounds of methamphetamine in her possession, the station's report adds — a haul that underscores the scale of the operation she was tied to.
A Joint Federal Investigation
The case was built through a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, per the same account from Stocktonia News. A co-defendant, Joshua Riccobuono, also agreed to a plea deal and is awaiting sentencing, though no sentencing date or recommendation has been disclosed.
Thao pleaded guilty to the conspiracy, and U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez imposed the eight-year sentence.
Part of a Broader Task Force Effort
Action News Now reports the case falls under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, described as a partnership aimed at dismantling criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings.
Earlier fentanyl cases include Lodi resident Vincent Jose Vasquez, who received a 12-year, six-month sentence in 2023 for fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking.
