Texas couple charged with fentanyl ring that led to three teen overdose deaths: police

A Texas couple is accused of being involved in a fentanyl distribution ring responsible for at least 10 overdoses among minors.

Luis Eduardo Navarrete, 21, and Magali Mejia Cano, 29, are charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, according to a federal indictment released Monday.

The couple were arrested Friday at the Navarrete residence in Carrollton, Texas, about 20 miles north of Dallas, and appeared in court for the first time on Monday afternoon.

According to the complaint, Navarrete and Cano allegedly sold counterfeit fentanyl-laced Percocet and Oxycontin tablets to several drug dealers, mostly students at RL Tuner High School. These dealers, in turn, sold the drugs to their high school classmates and even junior high school students of DeWitt Perry and Dan F. Long.

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Between September 2022 and February 2023, nine students at these schools, aged between 13 and 17, suffered ten overdoses, three of which were fatal, according to prosecutors.

One of these students, a 14-year-old girl, overdosed twice and suffered temporary paralysis. According to prosecutors, the girl told law enforcement that the pills she swallowed came from underage drug dealers who obtained the drugs from Navarrete. She also claimed to have bought the pills directly from Navarrete in the past.

Example of fentanyl tablets measured by US Customs and Border Protection agents. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

Law enforcement is monitoring Navarrete’s home and allegedly watched him “engage in a hand-to-hand deal with another 16-year-old dealer” in mid-January, federal prosecutors said.

Officers followed the teenager to the bathroom of R. L. Turner High School, where he snorted drugs in a stall. Prosecutors say the juvenile later told officers he received “Perc pills” from Navarrete.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the school district for comment.

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If found guilty, Cano and Navarrete face up to 20 years in federal prison.